Presumed Guilty
by KimmyD
Summary: NDHB Semi-AU Fic. Ned Nickerson cheats on Nancy Drew, or so it seems. With Frank and Joe's help, what comes next is a deadly case of romance, betrayal, and intrigue. Final chapter is up! Completed 92403. Read and review, please!
1. Chapter 1

FF: Presumed Guilty  
  
Author: Kim  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys copyright (although I do own @ 250  
  
of the books.) The characters within my story belong to the Stratemeyer Syndicate and Simon  
  
and Schuster. This was just for fun, trust me - there is no money to be made here.  
  
Author's Notes: Okay - this is the deal. Ever since I started collecting these Super Mysteries back  
  
in the late 80's (dating myself here, I know) I always wanted Frank and Nancy to get together.  
  
Ned and Callie were just too boring for my taste. This is not the first F/N story I've written. But  
  
it's currently the only one in existence. If you're not a F/N fan, this is not the story for you. If  
  
aging the entire gang a few years into their mid-20's bothers you, this is not the story for you.  
  
If you're appalled at the idea of adult relationships between any of the characters, again - this is  
  
not the story for you. Now keep in mind, that even though I've always wanted F/N to get  
  
together, I just can't bring myself to write them "together". Anything beyond passionate kisses  
  
and suggestive wording is left to your imagination. Joe doesn't appear for the first few chapters,  
  
but the rest of the ND gang and Frank is around. Patience is a virtue, all you Joe fans. If you like  
  
the story - respond and I'll write more. If you don't like it - that's fine too. Just keep the flames  
  
to a minimum folks, please. Okay - enough with the rambling ---- on with the show!  
  
'What a night,' twenty-four year old Nancy Drew thought to herself, as she removed her jewelry. Her mind exploded in vivid color with the events that had transpired that evening.  
  
The evening had started out so innocently enough. Bess had invited her to go out to dinner with her and her Bess's cousin George. Nancy had agreed readily. It seemed all three girls had been quite busy lately, never really getting a chance to connect. Nancy had been putting in tons of overtime at her job as an investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Bess was busy with wedding plans, and George was busy with classes as she attempted to finish her Masters in Exercise Science.  
The three friends had decided to try a new sushi place they had heard about for dinner. During the course of the meal the had caught up on the goings on of the past few weeks. Suddenly, Bess had looked nervous. She leaned over next to her cousin and whispered something in her ear that Nancy couldn't hear. George glanced over Nancy's shoulder, and the same expression appeared on her face. Turning her head Nancy didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Um, Nancy..." George began. "What did you say Ned was doing tonight?"  
Curious Nancy responded, "He told me he was having a working dinner with one of the guys from the office, which was fine, because I had already made plans with you guys. Why? What's going on?"  
Timidly, Bess pointed to a corner booth in the restaurant. "Look over there, Nan. It doesn't look like a working dinner to me."  
Slowly, Nancy turned around to where Bess had pointed. Shocked at the sight before her, Nancy's eyes widened in amazement. Ned and some girl that Nancy recognized from his office, but couldn't put a name with the face, were cuddled up next to each other in the booth, feeding each other sushi, and looking quite enamored with each other.  
Nancy turned back to her two friends and closed her eyes. 'How could he do this to me?' she thought. Although she and Ned had not made any definite marriage plans, they had been living together since Nancy had graduated from college last year.  
George covered Nancy's hand with her own, "Nan? Are you okay?"  
Nancy shook her head yes but didn't say anything. Inside her head, the pieces were beginning to fall into place. All the late nights Ned spent at the office, not coming home until Nancy was in bed. It hadn't even occurred to her before now that something might be going on. She was often out late herself or called out of town on investigations. She had just thought they were both busy with their professional lives. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. But, obviously, Ned hadn't been putting in overtime, he had been cheating on her for God knew how long.  
"What are you going to do?" Bess chimed in. She was shocked when she had looked up and seen Ned walk in with the gorgeous brunette. Ned had always seemed to be head over heels in love with Nancy, and this just wasn't like him.  
Putting her napkin down, Nancy arose from the table. With more confidence than she felt, she said, "I'm going over there."  
"Nan, don't make a scene," George pleaded with her friend. It was bad enough that they had caught Ned out with another woman in public, but they didn't want to add insult to injury by their friend fighting with her boyfriend in the middle of the restaurant.  
"I'm not," Nancy answered calmly. As she walked across the restaurant, Nancy thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest. The tears began to well up in her eyes, but she forced them away. She strode up to the table, and the happy couple was so engrossed in each other, they didn't notice her approach.  
She sat down next to Ned in the booth and at the same time reached out her hand to the unknown brunette. "Hi, I'm Nancy," she said, "Ned's girlfriend."  
Both the girl and Ned had the same horrified expression on their faces. Ned turned to face her and said, "Nan, I can explain."  
"No, Ned, I don't think you can." She shook her head at the sheer idiocy of the man in front of her. Did he honestly think he could explain this away?  
"Nan, please, just listen to me," he began to plead. The brunette, looking quite chastised turned her head away, not wanting to be apart of the conversation.  
"No. Do you honestly think I would believe you even if you tried? Working dinner, my ass, Ned." Nancy snorted as she continued. "I can't believe I didn't notice. All these working dinner and staying late at the office. Now, I really know what's been going on."  
"Well, you know Nan," Ned replied suddenly angry, "Maybe if you had been around a little more, I wouldn't have had to find someone else to spend time with."  
"Me?" Nancy said in disbelief. "You're trying to say that I'm the one to blame? Absolutely, unbelievable." Shaking her head, she held out her hand. "Give me your keys, Ned."  
"What?"  
"Your house keys, Ned. Fork them over. I want you out."  
"Nan, you can't be serious. Where am I supposed to go?" Ned pleaded to a stoic faced Nancy.  
"Not my problem," she replied. "Maybe if you had thought things through with your other head, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. The keys, Ned."  
Digging into his pocket, Ned pulled out his key chain and removed the apartment keys from the holder. Placing them in her hand, he looked miserable and attempted at an apology. "I'm sorry, Nan."  
She closed her fist tightly around the keys in an attempt to let her anger subside. "So am, I." She rose from the table and nodded to Ned. "Come over to the apartment tomorrow at noon and get all of your stuff. If you don't make it, it's going to Goodwill."  
"Oh, and whoever you are," she spoke to the brunette. "Have fun. He's all yours." And with that Nancy walked back to the table where Bess and George were waiting.  
"Come on Nan," Bess said, putting an arm around their friend. "We took care of the bill, now let's get out of here."  
Nancy managed to keep her tears at bay until they reached the parking lot. Bess and George managed to get most of the story of what happened between Nancy's sobs. She quit crying halfway through the drive back to her apartment. Wiping away her tears, she apologized to her two friends.  
"Nan, there is nothing to be sorry about. You guys were together a long time. It's okay to cry over it," George told her.  
"Well, I'm done crying over him. What he did was absolutely unbelievable, and then he had the nerve to blame it on me! He's not worth the tears," she replied.  
Bess shook her head in agreement. "I still can't believe, Ned, of all people, would do something like this."  
"Well, guess it shows how much I really knew about him. Boy, am I glad we decided to live together for a while before getting married." She laughed at the thought. "Much easier to kick him out, than file for divorce."  
The two other girls laughed. "That's our Nancy," George quipped. "Always looking on the bright side."  
Just then the car pulled up at Nancy's apartment. "Do you want us to come in for awhile and keep you company?" Bess asked.  
Nancy shook her head no. "Nah," she told the two. "I'm just gonna pour myself a glass of wine and soak in the bath and attempt to forget this night ever happened. I'll be okay, really." She explained to her friends.  
"You sure?" George asked.  
"Positive. Thanks for letting me vent. I owe you guys," she said as she climbed out Bess's car. "I'll call you guys later this weekend, okay?"  
"Okay," the girls echoed. "Call us if you need anything, Nan," Bess said.  
"I will," Nancy promised. And with that she shut the door and walked inside of the building that she and Ned lived in.  
"Evening, Ms. Drew," the doorman said as he held the door open for her.  
"Evening, Carl," she replied. "Can you do me a favor?"  
The doorman answered, "Yes ma'am. What can I do for you?"  
"If Mr. Nickerson tries to come home tonight, don't let him in."  
The doorman looked shocked, "Ma'am?" he questioned.  
"He's moving out tomorrow, Carl. And he's not welcome back in this building until tomorrow at noon, when he comes to collect his things. Can you promise me that you won't let him in tonight?"  
"I'll make sure you're not disturbed, Ms. Drew," he replied.  
"Thanks, Carl," she answered and then smartly turned around towards the elevator. 


	2. Chapter 2

As Nancy opened her jewelry box, her eyes caught a diamond ring glittering inside. She lifted out the ring and studied it. It was a reminder of happier times. She and two of her friends, Frank and Joe Hardy, along with Bess, had posed as married couples in a case they had investigated in Egypt many years ago.  
Nancy closed her eyes and relished in the memories of that case. She and Frank had always shared a special bond, and it wasn't difficult to pretend to be his wife. Even though she was still with Ned at the time, and Frank had been with his girlfriend, Callie Shaw, they were still attracted to each other. Nancy smiled at the memory of a kiss that she had Frank had shared shortly before they left Egypt.  
'Should've picked Frank after all,' she thought to herself. As she put the ring back in the box she wondered how he was doing. It had been almost a year since the two had spoken and she was curious as to what her friend was up to. 'I'll call him tomorrow after Ned leaves,' she promised herself.  
With the ring back in it's place, Nancy padded to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of white zinfandel. Nancy normally wasn't a drinker, but she did enjoy a glass of wine on occasion, and boy was tonight ever an occasion. She needed to relax and forget about the troubles of the day.  
After she poured the wine, she stopped by the living room to pick up the cordless phone. 'If Bess or George don't call to check on me, I'm sure Ned will try to call and apologize.' Nancy thought, making her way to the spacious bathroom and turning on the water. She poured in some bubbles and within minutes she was enjoying the nice hot water and the soft bubbles. As she attempted to relax and let her worries float away with the bubbles, the phone rang.  
"Grr," Nancy growled. 'Just when I was forgetting about everything!' She sat up and reached for the phone that she had placed next to the tub.  
"Hello?" she answered rather impatiently.  
"Nan, did I catch you at a bad time?" came the smooth voice that belonged to none other than Frank Hardy.  
"Frank!" Nancy exclaimed. "Not at all, well actually you did interrupt my bubble bath," she laughed.  
"Need some help washing your back?" he retorted playfully.  
"Sure do, Hardy. But I think I'd be a rather cold prune by the time you made it all the way from New York to Chicago." Nancy said laughing at the conversation.  
"Well, lucky for you, I just happen to be downstairs in front of you building. I can be washing your back in a manner of minutes." Frank smiled as his mind wandered to thoughts of Nancy in the tub.  
Nancy leaned back in the tub as she said, "Oh, Frank, stop playing. I know you're not serious."  
"Wanna bet, Drew?" he retorted. "I can put," Frank squinted at the doorman's name badge, "Carl, the doorman, on the phone to vouch for me if you'd like."  
"You are serious!" she exclaimed as she sat up once again. "Frank, what in the world are you doing in front of my apartment building?"  
"I take it you haven't checked your messages yet." Frank began. "I'm in town for business meeting, and I called the apartment around noon today and left you a message about meeting for lunch tomorrow. But when you hadn't called back, I tried your cell phone thinking maybe you were out of town," he explained.  
"But, I didn't hear it ring," Nancy interrupted.  
"That's because you apparently left it in Bess's car. She answered and when I told her that I was in town, she said that you might want to see a friendly face right now. So, here I am," Frank finished.  
"Good old, Bess," Nancy said. "Always watching out for me."  
"She did say that you were upset when she dropped you off, but she didn't tell me why. You okay, Nan?" Frank asked, concern evident in his voice.  
Nancy sighed, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Give me a minute to get dressed and then come on upstairs, and I'll tell you all about it."  
"So much for me washing your back," Frank laughed.  
"Maybe next time, Hardy," Nancy retorted with a small chuckle. "See you a minute." With that she clicked off the phone and quickly got out of the tub. She dried off and proceeded back to the bedroom to put some clothes on. She had just finished slipping on an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts, when she heard the knock on the door.  
"Coming," she hollered. Before reaching the front door, she stopped briefly to check her reflection in the mirror and ran a hand through her hair. "I look like crap," she muttered to herself. 'He's seen you looking worse than this,' she reminded herself.  
Reaching the door, she took a deep breath and flung the door open. "Hey!" she exclaimed as she launched herself into his arms for a bear hug.  
Frank hugged her back ferociously as he said, "It's good to see you,  
Nan."  
Pulling back she looked up into his chocolate brown eyes. "It's good to see you too, Frank. Come on in."  
He followed her into the apartment and into the living room. "Forgive my appearance, but someone interrupted my bath," she called over her shoulder.  
"Sorry about that, Nancy," he apologized. "But you look great as usual."  
Nancy felt her face blush slightly, as she sat on the couch. Frank's compliments always caused that reaction. "Thanks," she replied simply. "So do you." And he did. In khaki pants and a button down French blue shirt, Frank looked well, good. Patting the cushion next to her, she invited Frank to have a seat.  
"So, where's Ned tonight?" he asked, unaware of what had transpired earlier that evening.  
Nancy's face darkened as she heard his name mentioned. "He's why Bess said I might need a friend right now," she answered, with her head lowered.  
Lifting her chin up with his finger, he looked at Nancy with concern. "Nan? You okay?" Pushing the tears away once again, Nancy nodded. "Yeah. I'll fill you in, but it might take a while. You want something to drink?" she asked, rising from the couch.  
"Whatcha got?"  
"Well, I just opened a bottle of wine earlier. Care for a glass? Or do you want something else?"  
"Wine's fine," he replied. He watched her retreating form and wondered what in the world Ned had done to upset her so much. He knew from past conversations that the two had been living together for about a year now and that they were even toying with the idea of getting married. Frank and Ned had always been cordial around each other, but had never truly gotten along. Ned resented Frank's presence in Nancy's life and Frank thought Ned was too possessive of her.  
"Here you go," Nancy said, handing Frank a glass. She had poured another one for herself as well.  
"Thanks. So Nan, spill it. What's going on?" he asked.  
Nancy toyed nervously with the glass stem. "I caught him out with another woman tonight," she said softly.  
Frank's face fell as he heard Nancy's words. 'Asshole,' Frank thought. 'He doesn't realize what a good thing he just lost.' Reaching out and covering her hand with his, he simply said, "I'm sorry, Nan. You don't have to tell me the gory details if you don't want to."  
"No it's okay," she said. "It's a pretty simple story actually. Bess, George, and I went to this new sushi restaurant tonight to catch up with each other. Towards the end of the meal, I guess Bess noticed Ned and some girl I recognized from his office, sitting in a corner booth, looking pretty romantic. They asked me if I knew where he was, and I told him that he had told me he was having a working dinner tonight. Sure didn't look like a working dinner to me," she laughed bitterly.  
Taking a deep breath, she continued. "So, I went over to the booth they were in, sat down next to Ned. They were so into each other they didn't even notice me until I sat down." At this point, a single tear begins to fall down Nancy's cheek.  
Frank looked worriedly at his friend and softly wiped the tear away and motioned for her to continue.  
"So, I introduced myself to the girl as Ned's girlfriend, and Ned said that he could explain. Well, there's obviously no excuse for what he did, and I told him to save his explanations. Then, I demanded his keys and told him not to come home tonight. I told him that he could come over tomorrow at noon to pick up his stuff. He finally gave in and handed them over, and tried to apologize. Then I walked off and we left." Nancy let out a sigh as she finished rehashing the story. "That's it. End of story."  
Frank leaned forward and gathered her in his arms for a hug. He softly kissed the top of her head in comfort. "I'm sorry, Nan. He's a fool, you know."  
Nancy nodded in agreement. "I know." She pulled back and leaned back against the couch. "I just can't believe I didn't see it. I guess I was so preoccupied with my job, that I didn't see the signs. All of the late nights at the office, the working dinners. Right now, I feel like the queen of fools."  
Frank laughed, "Well if you're the Queen then I'm the King. Wanna hear my story?"  
Curious, Nancy nodded. "Don't tell me you and Callie..."  
Frank held up his hand to stop her. "Broke up?" he finished for her. "Oh yeah, big time. Hate to tell you Nance, but I win the award for catching a significant other with someone else." Nancy's eyes widened in shock. Surely he didn't mean that he walked in on Callie in bed with another man.  
As if reading her mind, Frank answered, "Yep, I didn't just catch her with someone else, I walked in on her with someone else." Frank shook his head at the memory.  
Nancy's hand went to her mouth. "Oh Frank, I'm sorry. I can't even imagine. Do you want to talk about it, or not?"  
"I'm okay, now. It happened, I guess it's been about six month's ago now." Frank downed the glass of wine and stood up. "Mind if I have another? I'm gonna need it."  
Nancy looked at her friend in sympathy. "Why don't you just bring the bottle in here?" she suggested.  
"Good idea." Frank headed to the kitchen and returned a minute later with the bottle. He poured himself and Nancy a second glass and began to tell his story.  
"We were at Joe and Vanessa's engagement party and we were having a great time until Callie started in on me about when we were going to get engaged. I told her that I didn't want to have this conversation then, and we would talk about it later. She told me that she was tired of waiting until later, because later never seemed to come. Suddenly we're having this huge fight in the middle of the party, and I got so upset that I just walked out the door. Joe came outside to check on me and I told him that I was sorry that I ruined his party and to go back inside and enjoy the rest of the evening."  
Frank paused for another sip and then continued. "Well, I walked around town for hours. I figured that one day Callie and I would get married, I just didn't want to be pressured into it. I finally went back to the party to talk to her and Vanessa said that she had already left. So, I headed over to her apartment. I knocked a few times, and when she didn't answer, I pulled out my key and let myself in. Hell, I figured she was just so mad that she didn't want to talk to me. I walked through the apartment calling out her name, but she didn't answer. I finally reached the bedroom door and I saw a light coming from underneath it. Not thinking about it, I pushed the door open and well, found her in bed with some guy."  
"Oh, God," Nancy gasped.  
"Apparently after I had left the party, she had a lot to drink and hooked up with one of Vanessa's cousins. When I saw them I started screaming and the guy jumped up and started fumbling for his clothes. I was screaming, Callie was crying, and the guy just wanted to get the hell out of there. In my anger, I got in one good punch before letting him leave."  
Frank polished off his second glass and poured himself another one. "Long story short I broke it off right there. She kept calling to try to apologize and get me to forgive her, but it didn't work. She finally stopped trying after a month. I couldn't believe that after one stupid fight she'd go and jump in bed with the first guy that talked to her. Made me wonder how many more times she had done that and I hadn't found out about it. So, like I said, my story beats yours," he finished.  
"Oh, Frank," Nancy said sympathetically, placing a hand on his arm. "God, I'm so sorry."  
"Don't be," he replied. "Better to have broken up with her then, than finding out later and filing for divorce."  
Nancy chuckled. "I said the same thing to Bess and George earlier." She cocked her head slightly and looked at Frank. "Scary how much we think alike, huh?"  
Frank grinned back, "Great minds and all."  
"You know, it's really strange that you showed up tonight. I was just thinking about you," Nancy commented.  
"Oh, really?" Frank asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.  
"Oh stop," Nancy said as she swatted him playfully. After downing the rest of her wine, she stood up and made her way to the bedroom and retrieved the ring from her jewelry box. She handed the ring off to Frank and asked, "Remember this? I saw it tonight when I was taking off my jewelry and it made me think of you."  
Frank studied the diamond ring in between his fingers. "I can't believe you still have this," he stated.  
"Like I'd throw away a good piece of jewelry," Nancy retorted with a smile.  
"Wanna hear something else that's scary?" he asked reaching into his pants pocket. He pulled out his key chain and handed them to Nancy. "Look," he prompted.  
Nancy glanced down at the keys in amazement. There in between all the keys, was the wedding band that Frank had worn on their trip to Egypt. Her face softened as she looked at Frank. "You still have yours, too."  
"Sure do," Frank replied. "Callie hated it, though. Never could understand why I kept it on there. I always told her that I never knew when I might have to pretend to be someone else while on an investigation, but she didn't buy it."  
"So, why did you keep it there?" Nancy asked softly.  
Frank paused to refill their glasses before answering her. "It reminded me of you, Nan. Whenever I felt down about something, I just pulled out my keys and reminded myself of all the good times I had when we were younger. You, Joe, and me traipsing across the world in search of who and god knows what. Boy have things changed," Frank sighed.  
"They sure have, haven't they?" Nancy, drink in hand, shifted on the couch a little closer to Frank as she handed him back his keys. "I miss you guys all the time."  
"We miss you too, Nan," he replied, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "One of these days, Joe and I are gonna open up that agency we've always talked about, and you're gonna come work for us."  
Nancy shot him a dirty look, "You mean with you, not for you."  
Frank's eyes danced with laughter. "You know what I meant," he said squeezing her shoulders. "Those were the good old days, weren't they though?" Frank reminisced fondly.  
"Sure were. Though, I didn't like how many times I came so close to losing you to some stupid stunt you pulled while we were investigating."  
"Hey, Drew, don't forget how many times you were almost a goner too." Frank sighed and hesitated before continuing. He took another sip of his drink before he said, "You don't know how often I thought I was never going to get to tell you how I felt before I lost you."  
Nancy's blue eyes met Frank's brown ones as she lowered the glass from her mouth. She bit her lip slightly and softly prompted, "And that would be what?"  
Frank took both of their drinks and set them on the coffee table next to the now empty wine bottle. He twisted around to face her and said, "I didn't think sometimes that I would ever get the chance to tell you how much I care about you. You've always been special to me, Nan."  
"I've always felt the same about you too, Frank," she answered honestly. "But there was always Callie and Ned waiting for us back at home. I didn't to want to hurt either of them like that."  
"They didn't seem to have a problem hurting us though, huh?" Frank snorted.  
Nancy shook her head ruefully and agreed, "No, I guess they didn't."  
Picking up her hands and clasping them gently he asked, "So where does that leave us, now?"  
She smiled a soft smile and leaned in closer to Frank. Wrapping her arms around his neck and looking him deep in the eyes, she paused and asked coyly, "How about here?"  
Frank's lips descended up on hers and all thoughts quickly left her brain. She felt him pull her tighter against him and savored the feeling of being wrapped securely in his arms. They kissed passionately until they had to pause to breathe.  
Pressing his forehead against hers, Frank asked her, "Are you sure about this?"  
"Positive," Nancy replied before reclaiming his lips with hers. Minutes seemed like hours until they parted again.  
This time, Nancy was the one to speak first. "Admit it, Hardy. You came here tonight just to seduce me," she laughed.  
Frank's laughter joined hers, "Is my diabolical plan working?"  
"What do you think?" Nancy asked as she grabbed his hands and stood up. She cocked her head towards the bedroom and she started to pull him in that direction. Suddenly, she felt herself being scooped up in his strong arms. Nancy giggled with delight as he carried her towards the bedroom. 


	3. Chapter 3

The late morning sunlight filtering in through the bedroom window, slowly woke Nancy from her peaceful slumber. She opened her eyes to find herself tightly wrapped in the arms of Frank. With a contented sigh, Nancy snuggled closer to him and recalled the events of the previous night. Ending up in bed with Frank Hardy had not been on her agenda last night, but then again neither had been catching Ned out with another woman. 'I hope Frank realizes that this didn't happen just because I was upset about Ned,' she thought to herself. She had always cared for Frank, and deep down a part of her even loved him. There had never been a right time to sort out their feelings for each other, until last night.  
"Morning, beautiful," Nancy heard Frank whisper as he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.  
"Morning, handsome," she blushed as she reached up softly brushed her lips against his.  
  
Frank's eyes searched Nancy's face as he attempted to figure out what she was thinking. 'I hope she doesn't think I overstepped the boundaries last night,' he thought. Out loud he asked, "Any regrets?"  
Nancy's eyes clouded over, "None," she answered slowly, "Do you?"  
Frank shook his head no. "God no, Nan. I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I took advantage of the situation last night."  
Relief flooded throughout Nancy. "I think I was just as much the instigator as you were. But I don't regret what happened at all." A wicked grin spread over Nancy's face. "In fact, I rather enjoyed what happened last night. Up for a repeat performance?" she asked rasing her eyebrows suggestively.  
"You're on," Frank grinned before rolling her over and kissing her senseless.  
  
"Talk about a great wake up call," Frank panted as he and Nancy laid tangled together in the sheets once more.  
"I agree," Nancy replied. "A girl could get used to that." Her face fell as she realized that Frank was only in town for a short while. In fact, she wasn't sure when he was supposed to be returning to New York.  
"I'm in town through the end of next week," he said, as if reading her mind. "After that, well, we'll figure something out."  
"I'd like that," Nancy admitted. "Breakfast?" she asked as she stood up and donned her robe.  
"Breakfast would be great," Frank said. "Give me a minute and I'll be in there to help."  
Leaning over and placing a quick kiss on his lips, Nancy said, "Take your time."  
She practically floated through the apartment and into the kitchen. 'Last night was amazing,' she thought to herself as she pulled pots and pans out of the cupboard.  
As she retrieved items from the refrigerator, she heard the faint sound of a key in the door. "What the.." she muttered to herself. As she stepped into the living room she found herself face to face with Ned coming through the doorway.  
Shocked, Nancy asked, "How did you get in here?"  
He dangled his keys in front of her. "Spare set. Nancy, about last night..." Ned started to explain.  
Just then Frank's voiced echoed through the apartment. "Nan, have you seen my..." Frank stepped into the living room wearing only his pants, still with the belt unbuckled. "Shirt," he finished as he stopped abruptly at the sight of Ned in the living room. "Ned," he acknowledged quietly.  
"Frank," gritted Ned through clenched teeth. His eyes flashed in anger at Nancy, "I don't believe you," he directed at her.  
"Yeah, well, I didn't believe what I saw last night either," Nancy retorted angrily. Turning to Frank she shook her head. "I didn't see it anywhere."  
Deciding it would be best to give the ex couple some space, Frank backed out of the room. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can find it." His eyes instructed Nancy to let him know if things got out of control. He then turned his gaze on Ned, and gave him a stony glare before retreating to the bedroom.  
Nancy felt Ned's hand on her arm twisting her back in his direction. "Nan - I can't believe what I'm seeing here. You see me at dinner with someone else, you assume the worst, not even bothering to listen to my side of the story, and next thing I know, I find Frank Hardy walking out of our bedroom half dressed?! What in the hell is wrong with you?"  
"What in the hell is wrong with me?" Nancy exclaimed. "In case you forgot, you were the one that was sneaking around on me behind my back!" Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I don't owe you an explanation, Ned. I told you last night it was over. What I do and who I see now is none of your business," Nancy said as calmly as she could, as the anger boiled up inside her.  
"But Nancy, I can explain what you saw last night..." Ned attempted to explain.  
Nancy held up her hand to stop him. "Ned, look... I don't want to hear it. And I don't want to fight with you anymore.. I just want this to be over with as quickly and calmly as possible. Please, just collect your things and go," she pleaded.  
"But, Nan, if you would just listen to me for a minute..."  
"Please, Ned - don't," Nancy stated. "I'm going to go get dressed and then Frank and I will leave. By the time we get back, please be gone."  
Ned shook his head in defeat. "Fine. Have it your way. I'll be out of the apartment and our of your life in a matter of hours." 


	4. Chapter 4

Twenty minutes later, Nancy found herself walking through the garage of her apartment building with Frank Hardy in tow. Both Nancy and Frank had been silent the entire way to her car. Nancy turned off the alarm on her brand new cherry red Mustang and opened the door. Before she could climb inside, Frank put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.  
Turning around to face him Nancy saw that his dark brown eyes were filled with worry. "Nan, if you want, I can go. But, I just want to make sure that you're okay with...everything."  
Nancy placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "I'm fine," she sighed. "A little drained, but fine. And no, I don't want you to leave. I'm just sorry that you had to get stuck in the middle of this whole situation."  
"Hey, there's nothing for you to sorry about," he told her. "As long as you're okay, I'm okay."  
At that point Nancy's stomach let out a loud grumble. With a laugh she said, "I'm okay - except for being hungry, I guess."  
"Well, we did work up quite an appetite last night, and this morning," Frank said waggling his eyebrows, attempting to lighten the mood.  
  
"Cute, Hardy," Nancy smiled. " Now get your butt in the car so we can do something about restoring our energy."  
  
"So, when's Joe and Vanessa's big day?" Nancy asked as she speared a leaf of lettuce. The two were seated at a nostalgic 50's style diner on the outskirts of town. Nancy needed to retrieve her cell phone from Bess's house and the diner was on the way.  
"June 12th," Frank replied. "They should be sending out invitations soon - keep an eye out for yours."  
Nancy shook her head in amazement. "I still can't believe that Vanessa got Joe to settle down. Will wonders ever cease?" Frank's younger brother, Joe had been a notorious flirt in his younger days and Nancy was shocked when she had learned about Joe's engagement last night.  
"I know," Frank agreed. "Can't believe my baby brother is getting hitched. I hope Bess won't be too crushed when we tell her the news," he laughed. Bess had a crush on Joe when the two were younger, and even though nothing had ever happened between the two, it was still a joke among the friends.  
"Actually," Nancy said, "I didn't get a chance to tell you, but Bess is engaged too."  
Franks eyebrows raised, "To who?" Like his brother Joe, Bess was also known as a shameless flirt.  
"A guy named Tom Neal that she met our senior year at Wilder. She's head over heels for him and they're getting married in September. You'd like him, he's a great guy. He's a teacher at the high school near their house."  
"Wow." Frank paused momentarily to sip his drink. "Both Joe and Bess, the biggest flirts on the planet are getting married. Did hell freeze over and we miss the memo?" Frank chuckled at the thought.  
Nancy laughed right along with Frank. "Guess so. But I'm happy for the both of them, and I wish them the best of luck."  
"So," Frank said, changing the subject, "tell me what's been going on with you the last year. How's your dad and Hannah?"  
"They're fine. Dad's as busy as ever with work but we see each other every other week or so. Hannah keeps calling me to come visit so she can 'get some real food in me'." Nancy smiled fondly at the thought of her housekeeper Hannah Gruen. Hannah had become a second mother to Nancy, after Nancy's mother had passed away when she was four years old. "What about your folks and Aunt Gertrude? How are they?"  
"Fine. Mom and Aunt Gertrude are both driving Vanessa mad with the wedding plans. They think they're helping, but they're gonna give Van a nervous breakdown before she ever makes it down the aisle," he laughed. "Dad's PI business is still going strong. He hopes that Joe and I will take over eventually, but I think it will be awhile before that happens."  
Frank and Joe, like Nancy, had both been amateur detectives in their teenage years. The boys hadn't given up investigating crimes completely, they just took two different career paths. Frank was working for NYPD as a computer crimes analyst and Joe was working for the FBI as a field agent, or is Joe liked to joke, a desk jockey. Even though they were both still in the criminal justice field, neither of them saw near the amount of danger they encountered when they were younger.  
"You two doing alright? Can I get you anything?" the young blonde waitress asked, appearing at their table.  
Both Nancy and Frank shook their head no. "We're okay, thanks," Nancy answered.  
The waitress smiled and said, "Great. I'll bring your tab over in just a minute, folks."  
"How's your work going?" Frank queried once the waitress had walked away. "We occasionally see some of your stories via the Associated Press in New York, but it's been awhile since I've seen anything big break."  
"I love it, Frank. It's quieted down around here a little bit, lately. But, honestly - it's nice to have a break every once in awhile." Nancy did enjoy her job as an investigative journalist, but sometimes she simply needed a rest from the travel and the constant suspense of her job.  
"I agree. A little r and r is a good thing every now and then. Even though I'm here on an official capacity, it's nice to get out of the doldrums of work for a change," he replied.  
"What  
exactly is it  
that brought  
you out to  
Chicago?"  
Nancy asked.  
  
"A two week training course on new systems, laws, and procedures that the FCC has instituted in regards to the internet. The first week has been great. Technology is advancing so fast, it's hard to keep up at times. The hackers keep getting smarter, and we keep struggling to catch up."  
"Well, you were always the best hacker that I knew," Nancy smiled. "I'm sure you give the bad guys a run for their money."  
Frank wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I'd like to think so. We're free from seminars until Monday morning. Do you have any plans for the rest of the weekend?"  
Nancy shook her head no. "Nope, no plans, yet." She cocked her head to the side and asked, "So, Hardy - was that your not so subtle way of asking me to hang out with you for rest of the weekend?"  
Frank grinned sheepishly and reached across the table and picked up Nancy's hand. "That is, if you'll let me."  
"I think that can be arranged," she grinned back. Her heart fluttered slightly in her chest. It was going to be an interesting weekend exploring this new twist in her relationship with Frank. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Nan! Frank!" Bess exclaimed as she opened her front door. She gave Frank a hug hello and said, "It's so good to see you! Come on in," she said, ushering the pair inside the house.  
"It's good to see you too, Bess. I hear congratulations are in order," Frank stated.  
Bess displayed her left hand that held a glittering diamond solitaire. She gave him a big smile, "Yep. Getting married in September."  
"Like Nancy said earlier, will wonders never cease? First Joe, now you."  
"Joe's getting married, too?" Bess questioned.  
"Sure is. He and Vanessa are tying the knot in about three months."  
"Someone got Joe to settle down? Wow," Bess said. "Look's like we've all done some growing up."  
The trio headed into the living room to sit and Bess turned to Nancy, "How are you holding up?"  
Nancy reached for Frank's hand and smiled at Bess. "I think things are going to be just fine," she smiled.  
Bess looked at the pair of joined hands and then to Nancy's face, and finally Frank's face. "I just made some lemonade. Nan, why don't you come in the kitchen and help me bring it out?"  
Nancy laughed. "Smooth, Bess. We both know you don't need help pouring lemonade."  
Bess pouted and was about to defend herself when Frank interrupted. "Go on and have your little girl talk," he grinned at the girls.  
"Thank you, Frank," Bess said, grabbing Nancy's arm. "Come on. You and I have some chatting to do, missy."  
"Back in a minute," Nancy called over her shoulder to Frank, as Bess dragged her into the kitchen.  
Bess looked at Nancy in disbelief. "Okay - last night when I dropped you off, you were practically still in tears. Obviously, you're fine now. Care to share the details?"  
Nancy grinned sheepishly. "Well, you did have a hand in it, Bess," she pointed out.  
"Me? I didn't do anything," Bess declared, feigning innocence.  
Nancy fixed a mock glare at Bess, "You're the one that sent him over to my house last night when you answered my cell phone."  
Bess chose to ignore that comment. "So, what happened?" She pulled the glasses down from the cabinet and sat them on the counter.  
"Well, it was very ironic that he called last night, because I was thinking about him," Nancy began. "When I got home and was putting my jewelry away, I noticed the rings that we wore in Egypt and I told myself that I was going to call him the next day to catch up. Next thing I know, my bubble bath was interrupted by a phone call and he was downstairs in front of my building."  
"Go on," Bess urged. "And hurry up and get to the good stuff."  
Nancy laughed at her friend's impatience. "Well, when he came upstairs we sat on the couch and he asked me where Ned was. Over a bottle of wine I told him what happened and he told me a similar, but much worse story, as to what happened between him and Callie. Then we started reminiscing about the good old days of chasing criminals, and that led to us talking about how we felt about each other." Nancy paused to retrieve some ice for the glasses.  
"And?" Bess prompted.  
"Well, let's just say that he spent the night and leave it at that," Nancy said.  
Bess's eyes were as big as saucers, "You and Frank...."  
Nancy bit her lip and smiled. "Yep. Twice, actually," she admitted. "Once last night, and then again this morning."  
Bess swatted Nancy with a dishtowel, "You devil, you," she exclaimed.  
"Unfortunately," Nancy continued, her mood sobering instantly. "When I got up this morning to fix us breakfast, Ned came home."  
"I thought you took his keys," Bess interrupted.  
"I did," she answered. "But I guess in my anger, I forgot about his spare set. So, in walks Ned. I'm in my robe about to cook breakfast and Ned starts to offer another lame excuse about last night, when Frank walks into the living room looking for his shirt."  
"Oh no!" Bess said. "What happened?" she asked sympathetically.  
Nancy took a deep breath remembering the morning's events and then continued. "Well, Ned wasn't happy at what he saw, that's for sure. Frank escaped back into the bedroom and Ned kept trying to get me give me an explanation. I told him that I was done with it, Bess. I said everything I needed to say to him last night. I didn't want to fight, and I didn't want to hear any excuses."  
Bess patted her friend's shoulder in comfort. She knew that this had to be hard for Nancy. After all, she and Ned had spent the better part of the last decade together. "Then what happened?" she asked gently.  
"I told him he needed to be gone by the time Frank and I got back. That was it. End of story," Nancy sighed. She was trying to keep from getting emotional again, but relating the story to one of her best friend's was a little harder than she had imagined. Frank hadn't pushed for any details and she didn't offer them either.  
Bess enveloped Nancy in a friendly hug. "It'll be okay, Nan. Things have a way of working out for the best," she reminded her friend.  
"I know."  
"And I think that guy in the living room is going to help you get over old Ned in no time," Bess grinned.  
Nancy couldn't help but smile back. "I think you might be right." 


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Okay guys, I know it's been a little slow going, but I promise that I'm working up to the good stuff. Bear with the overload of dialogue for a few more chapters and you'll see where I'm going with this. Enjoy and review! I want to know what you guys think!! :)  
  
Chapter Six  
  
After visiting with Bess for about an hour, Nancy and Frank decided it was time to head back into the city.  
"Almost forgot what we came here for," Nancy said as the two stood up to leave. "My cell phone."  
"That's right," Bess replied, as she retrieved Nancy's cell phone from her desk. "Here you go, Nan."  
"Thanks, Bess," Nancy said, hugging her friend good-bye. "For everything," she added in a whisper.  
Bess grinned conspiratorially, "That's what friends are for." Turning to Frank she said, wagging a finger in his direction, "And you - don't be a stranger."  
"I won't," Frank promised giving Bess a hug. "I'll be back in September for your wedding." Stealing a quick glance at Nancy, he added, "and if you're lucky, maybe I'll be back in town before then."  
"I hope so," Bess smiled. "Take care you two."  
"Bye, Bess," Frank and Nancy chorused as they walked out the front door. As they stepped out into the chilly spring air, Nancy shivered slightly. It was mid- day, but the temperature had yet to reach the 50 degree mark. Late March could be just as cold as January in Chicago.  
"Cold?" Frank asked, slipping an arm around Nancy's shoulders as they headed to the car.  
"Well, I was," Nancy admitted. "But that's helping."  
"You know me," Frank said with a teasing note in his voice, "never could resist helping a damsel in distress."  
"My hero," Nancy laughed in amusement.  
Climbing into the car, Nancy immediately turned the heater on. The faint sunshine hadn't managed to warm the car up that much, and without Frank's arm around her shoulder, the chill was back.  
"So, Drew," Frank asked. "What do you feel up to doing tonight?"  
Shrugging her shoulders Nancy responded, "I don't know. But staying inside somewhere nice and warm sounds good to me!" For emphasis, she rubbed her hands together furiously and blew warm air on them.  
Laughing at her antics, Frank suggested. "Well then, what do you say to renting a movie and curling up on the couch?"  
"Sounds like a plan," Nancy agreed. Putting the car in gear and backing out of Bess's driveway, she said, "Blockbuster, it is then."  
  
"Nan," Frank said exasperatedly, "For the tenth time, I don't care what movie we get. Whatever you want to watch is fine with me. I picked one, now it's your turn."  
"Well I haven't had time to rent movies lately. There's so many I want to see," Nancy said, defending herself against her sudden attack of indecisiveness.  
"Just pick one, please," Frank requested. To soften her up, he put his arms around her, and said, "As long as you're with me, I don't care what you pick."  
Nancy's impatience with him subsided quickly. Before she could respond, she heard her cell phone begin to ring. "Hold these," she said, shoving five different movie boxes into Frank's hands. "Let me see if I need to take this."  
Nancy quickly dug through her purse to locate the ringing cell phone. Glancing at the caller id display, she didn't recognize the number. Deciding the maybe it was someone calling about work, she answered the phone. "Hello?"  
"Ms. Drew?" a male voice that she didn't recognize came over the line.  
"This is she," she responded. "Who's this?"  
"Ms. Drew, this is John Carlisle, your apartment building manager. I'm afraid I have some bad news."  
"What's wrong?" Nancy asked immediately aware that something just didn't feel right.  
"Well, I don't know how to tell you this," Mr. Carlisle began.  
"Just tell me," Nancy snapped. She was now extremely worried about what he had to tell her.  
"Ms. Drew, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there was a break in at your apartment. Apparently whoever broke in, caught Mr. Nickerson in the process. He was, well he was shot."  
"Oh my god," Nancy gasped. Her face paled noticeably and Frank looked on concerned.  
"What's wrong?" Frank mouthed silently.  
She held up her hand to Frank to wait until she finished her conversation. "Is he...?" Nancy asked, unable to finish her sentence.  
"Mr. Nickerson's still alive, but he's been taken to the hospital," John responded reassuringly.  
"Which one?" Nancy demanded.  
"St. Jospeh's on 63rd. The ambulance left about fifteen minutes ago," he answered.  
"Thank you for calling," Nancy responded almost inaudibly.  
"Ms. Drew, if there is anything we can do, just let us know," the apartment manager offered kindly.  
"Thank you," Nancy repeated and hung up the phone. Her hands were shaking as she put the phone back into her purse.  
"What's wrong?" Frank asked immediately.  
"That was my apartment manager," she replied, eyes still wide with shock. "Someone, uh, broke in and, uh, shot Ned." Tears welled up in her eyes as she relayed the news to Frank.  
"Oh, God," Frank uttered. He sat the movies on the display rack and pulled Nancy into an embrace. He smoothed her hair and told her reassuringly, "He'll be fine, Nan." As much as Frank and Ned didn't like each other, Frank still didn't want anything bad to come to the man.  
"The hospital," Nancy cried. "We have to get to the hospital."  
It broke Frank's heart to see Nancy in tears. "I know," he said soothingly as he led her out of the video store. "I'm driving," he instructed. "But, you've got to tell me where we're going."  
"St. Joe's on 63rd. It's about ten minutes from here. Oh, God, Frank. What if he dies thinking that I hate him?" Nancy said in a quiet voice.  
Opening the passenger door, he helped her into the vehicle. He crouched down next to her and said, "Nancy, Ned would never think that. Just because you two broke up doesn't mean that you hate each other. And besides," he reminded her, "he's going to be fine."  
Wiping the tears away, Nancy apologized. "I'm sorry for being such a basket case."  
Frank smiled slightly and said, "Nancy, it's okay. You loved Ned, you have a right to be worried about him. Frankly, I'd be worried about you if you weren't acting like a basket case right now." He kissed her forehead lovingly and stood up. With that he shut the door to her side of the car and quickly ran around and jumped in the front seat. Flipping on the emergency lights, Frank peeled out of the parking lot and into the busy Chicago traffic. 


	7. Chapter 7

Nancy quickly strode into the emergency room, Frank following close behind. She slammed her purse on the desk and looked at the admissions nurse. "I'm looking for someone brought in here about a half hour ago. Ned Nickerson. How is he?"  
The nurse eyed Nancy warily, "And you are?"  
"I'm his girlfriend," she fibbed. Up until last night, that had been the truth, so Nancy didn't feel bad about stretching the truth.  
"Hmph," the nurse said. "Well the girl that rode in with him," she said pointing a girl quietly sobbing in the corner, "claimed to be his girlfriend, as well."  
Nancy sucked in a breath as she looked over and saw the brunette that she had caught him with the night before. "Well, I don't know who she is," Nancy said with steely resolve, "but he lives with me. Check his insurance records. I'm listed as his beneficiary. Nancy Drew is my name."  
Frank put a reassuring hand on Nancy's back and they waited for the nurse to look up the information that verified Nancy's identity. The nurse typed a few keystrokes into the computer and then looked up at Nancy. "I'm sorry, Ms. Drew," she apologized. "But we have to be careful who we divulge information too."  
Nancy nodded that she understood, but her impatience was growing. "Please, what can you tell me about his condition?"  
The nurse typed a few more strokes on the keypad and then looked up from the screen, and back to Nancy. "He's in emergency surgery with Dr. Siebel. When he was brought in, he was listed in critical condition. As soon as the doctor is finished, I'll have him come speak with you about Mr. Nickerson. Until then, just have a seat. It may be awhile."  
"Thank you," Nancy whispered gratefully. Turning to Frank she pointed out the girl in the corner. "What in the world is she doing here? And why was she with Ned when he was shot?"  
Frank shrugged his shoulders. "Nan, I know what's going on here, just about as much as you do. This is crazy. Do you want to talk to her, or do you want me to do it?"  
Nancy inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No, I don't want you to talk to her," she said, "but I do want you next to me, while I question her. You could pick up on something that I miss."  
Frank pulled Nancy into another hug. "You can do this, Nan," he whispered encouragingly. "I'm right here with you."  
"Thanks," Nancy said softly. "You're going above and beyond the call of duty here, Frank. I owe you big time."  
Frank brushed a stray lock of hair away from Nancy's face. "No problem," he replied. "I'll collect later, when this whole mess is straightened out. Now, let's go talk to whats-her-name over there," Frank said giving her a gentle push in the girl's direction.  
  
Nancy bit her lip as she stood sat in the chair opposite of the brunette that was crying. 'Where do I even begin?' she wondered. "Excuse me," Nancy said, breaking the girl out of her reverie.  
The dark haired girl's eyes widened in shock and she recognized Nancy from the previous night. "Yes?" the girl croaked out.  
"Who are you, for starters?" Nancy demanded  
"My name is Amy Durham," she said quietly. "I work at Alliance with Ned. I'm his bosses secretary. We started uh... dating, about two months ago. I didn't know he had a girlfriend, I swear."  
Nancy could see the fear and confusion in the girl's eyes, but Nancy didn't care. She had to know how Ned ended up in the hospital. "What happened? How did Ned get shot?" Nancy pressed her for more information.  
"I... I don't know," Amy cried. "He called me about 2 hours ago and said he was at the apartment and that he wanted to talk to me about last night. I was still angry at him, but I agreed to meet him, anyway. When I got there, I ... I found him... he was laying on the floor in the living room." She hiccupped and wiped at her eyes and then continued. "There was so much blood," she whispered. "I called 9-1-1 and the next thing I know, I'm sitting here."  
After hearing the story Nancy began to feel slightly sorry for the girl. Having seeing too many gruesome things in her past, she knew how hard it was. "Was there anyone else in the apartment when you found him?" she asked, more gently this time.  
Amy shook her head no. "The place was a wreck, though," she remembered. "It looked like someone had broken in."  
Frank glanced at Nancy. He could practically read her mind, and he knew that she was thinking that this wasn't making any sense. Who would break into a house, in broad daylight, while someone was there, and then shoot the person?  
"Was he conscious when you found him?" Nancy queried.  
"Barely," she answered. "But I didn't understand what he kept saying. He just kept repeating your name, and then I think he said something about a desk. But I'm not sure."  
Frank's eyebrows raised in confusion, but it looked as though Nancy knew exactly what the girl was talking about. "Are you sure he said desk?" she asked once more.  
"I think that's what he said," the brunette said timidly. "That was the last thing he said before he passed out."  
  
Nancy stood abruptly and pulled Frank off to the side for a private conversation. "Something's not right here," she stated.  
"You know what she's talking about with the desk comment, don't you?" Frank asked.  
"Maybe," Nancy answered. "We have an old antique writing desk with a bunch of secret compartments. It's where we store all of important papers, so if we were to get burglarized, no one would find them. It's also where I keep my case notes that I don't want anyone else to see."  
"So, the key to this seems to be whatever Ned is hiding in the compartment," Frank mulled over. "When was the last time you looked in there?"  
Nancy shrugged her shoulders, "It's been awhile. I haven't had a really high profile cases in a couple of months."  
"Do you want me to go check it out while you stay here and wait for word on Ned?" Frank offered. He could sense Nancy was torn on finding out just what Ned was hiding, and waiting to see what his condition was.  
"Would you?" Nancy asked gratefully.  
"Of course."  
"Thank you," Nancy said, impulsively giving Frank a kiss on the cheek.  
He smiled and looked down at Nancy's worried face, "So - tell me how to get into this secret compartment." 


	8. Chapter 8

Frank took Nancy's keys and headed back to her apartment. Just as a precaution, Nancy had called ahead to her apartment manger to let them know that Frank was allowed access. He hoped that the Chicago Police weren't still investigating the crime scene. He wasn't sure if flashing his NYPD badge would do him any good in Chicago. Plus, he wanted a chance to snoop around for himself, without anyone else getting in his way.  
Reaching Nancy's floor he was glad to see that the police were no where to be found. However, the yellow police tape in an x mark across the door was a garish reminder of what had happened. Tearing off the tape, Frank let himself into the apartment with Nancy's keys.  
The apartment was a disaster. Everything was in shambles. It seemed that whoever had been inside had left nothing untouched. Frank glanced around, his trained eye looking for anything out of the ordinary, but it was hard to see anything in the chaos. Frank noticed patches of black powder along different surfaces, but he would bet anything that the only fingerprints to be found would belong to Ned, Nancy, and himself.  
Stepping over the broken items on the floor, Frank headed towards the second bedroom that the couple used as an office. This room, too was in complete disarray. When Frank saw the desk in the corner, he hoped that the intruder hadn't found what he was looking for. Drawers were emptied on to the floor and papers were everywhere.  
With a sigh, he walked over to the desk and studied it closely. He found the empty space where a drawer should have been, that Nancy had said housed the secret compartment. Frank found several drawers strewn about on the floor and started picking them up. With each one, he tapped gently on the underside, to disengage the false bottom. He finally found success with the fourth drawer he picked up.  
Opening the compartment Frank pulled out the contents. 'Birth certificates, passports, Insurance policy, bond certificates, stock certificates,' he mumbled as he leafed through the papers. Suddenly, a CD fell out of from between the pages of the stock certificates.  
Frank smiled to himself as he picked the CD up off the floor. This was the only unusual item in the drawer, and it wasn't labeled. "Gotcha."  
Frank looked around the room and was disappointed to find that the computer was also strewn in pieces across the floor. 'Thank God for laptops,' Frank thought to himself as he remembered his was still sitting in the front seat of his rental car.  
He stuffed the CD into the inside pocket of his leather jacket and quickly made his way back through the apartment to the front door. Taking one last look at the mess, he shook his head in sadness and walked out the door.  
  
In the garage Frank located his rental car and quickly climbed inside. He pulled the laptop out of it's case and powered it on. He reached for the CD and once the computer was up and running he put the CD in the drive.  
Frank reached for his cell phone to call Nancy. When her cell phone went to voice mail, he cursed as he remembered that cell phones were not allowed on inside of hospitals. He decided to leave her a message anyway, just in case she stepped outside to check her messages.  
"Hey, Nan - it's me," Frank said as he typed into the computer. "I'm leaving your apartment now. I found a CD that wasn't labeled and I'm the car copying all the information on to my laptop. I haven't looked at it yet, but I'm sure it holds the secret to whatever the hell is going on here. I'll see you in a few." With that he snapped his cell phone shut and a few quick keystrokes later, Frank had copied the entire CD on to his hard drive. Saving the information in an encrypted code, he retrieved the CD and put it back in his pocket. He turned off the computer and put it back inside his carrying case.  
As a safety precaution, Frank opened the glove compartment and took out his service revolver. Slipping the holstered gun into the waistband of his khakis, he climbed out of the car. As he walked to where he had parked Nancy's car, he thought he heard a noise behind him. Stiffening at the slight sound, his hand went immediately to the gun on his side, and he whirled around. Before Frank could draw his firearm, a masked man hit him over the top of his head with a baseball bat. The world faded into blackness as Frank slid to the ground and into unconsciousness.  
  
Nancy had just finished making one of the hardest calls of her life. She had just hung up the phone with Ned's very distraught parents. She had thought it best that she be the one to break the news to his family. A sobbing Mrs. Nickerson had handed the phone off to her husband to get the details and he had calmly informed Nancy that they would be there as soon as they could. Nancy had only told them of the shooting. She thought it best to not further bother them with the messy details of their break up. They had enough to worry about without adding insult to injury.  
Ned had been in surgery for two hours now and Nancy was practically climbing the walls. No one had been out to update her on his condition and she was starting to fear that he wasn't going to make it. Her heart pounded in fear that she might have been right in thinking that Ned might die thinking that she hated him.  
Even though she had kicked him out the night before, Nancy didn't hate Ned. Granted, she hated how he hurt her, but she didn't hate him. She couldn't just make six years of loving him disappear over night. In fact, she was downright frightened at the prospect of him dying on the operating table.  
Adding to her worry, was the fact that Frank still hadn't made it back from searching her apartment. "Where is he?" Nancy mumbled as she paced back in forth in the tiny ER waiting room. Glancing at her watch, Nancy swore under her breath. "He should've been back by now." The stress of the last two days were starting to take their toll on Nancy, and her emotions were in overdrive.  
"Nancy?" Amy asked quietly as she watched Nancy pace back and forth.  
Nancy looked over at the brunette with curiosity. "What?"  
"I... I just want to say that I'm sorry," she said, wringing her hands together. "I promise you that I didn't know that you two were together."  
Nancy closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat as she listened to Amy's apology, but she didn't respond immediately. After a long uncomfortable silence, she finally replied. "I believe you. I don't know why - but I do."  
Just then a doctor appeared in the waiting room. He glanced at his chart and looked towards the girls. "Nancy Drew?" He asked.  
"That's me," Nancy said stepping forward to greet the doctor.  
The older man shook Nancy's hand and introduced himself, "Dr. Siebel."  
"How is he?" Nancy asked shaking the doctor's hand.  
The doctor sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you, Nancy. It was a rough surgery. We extracted two bullets that passed within millimeters of both his heart and his lungs. Mr. Nickerson lost a lot of blood, but we did manage to repair the damage that was inflicted."  
Nancy gulped at the doctor's news. "Is he going to make it?"  
"I hope so," Dr. Siebel answered. "But, I can't make any promises. The next 24 to 48 hours are extremely critical. But, he looks to be an otherwise healthy young man, so hopefully that should work in his favor."  
"Can I see him?" Nancy asked hopefully.  
"He's being transferred to a bed in ICU at the moment. You can visit with him briefly when they have him settled. But, he probably won't wake up until sometime tomorrow morning. We have him pretty heavily sedated in order for his body to start the healing process."  
"Thank you," Nancy said, shaking the doctor's hand once more.  
He smiled gently at the worried young lady in front of him. "I'll have one of the nurses come and get you as soon as he's settled," he promised.  
"Thank you," Nancy repeated. As the doctor disappeared behind the doors to the emergency corridor, Nancy suddenly felt like she was losing control.  
"Excuse me," Nancy said brushing past Amy, who had been listening to the doctor's news. "I need to get some air." She grabbed her purse off the chair and headed towards the automatic doors.  
Anger, worry, and a myriad of other emotions consumed Nancy as she stepped out into the crisp air. She took several calming breaths and then reached for her cell phone. "Dammit, Frank - where are you?" she said to herself as she powered the phone on.  
Her phone chirped and alerted her that she had voice mail. Nancy sighed in relief as she pressed the button to retrieve the messages.  
"You have two new messages," the automated voice greeted her.  
"Thank God," Nancy said to herself. She pressed the code to listen to the first message. Relief flooded Nancy to the core as she heard Frank's voice over the line. After listening to his message about finding the CD, Nancy pressed the delete key. 'He probably just caught up in rush hour traffic,' Nancy thought.  
She entered the code once more to hear the second message. Fear coursed through her veins as she heard a threatening voice warn ominously, "Quit snooping around. One boyfriend down, one to go. And if you're not careful, you'll be next."  
Nancy's heart skipped a beat as she listened to the message. Thinking quickly, she saved the message and then proceeded to check her call log. Maybe, just maybe, the guy had slipped up and Nancy could get a number on him. She scrolled through the list and found that both the calls had originated from Frank's cell phone.  
"Damnit!" Nancy cursed. She knew that whoever had left her a message, had somehow gotten a hold of Frank. On a whim, Nancy tried calling Frank's cell phone, even though she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to reach him. When it went straight to voice mail, Nancy slammed her phone shut.  
  
AN: I know it seems kind of slow going but, is anyone still with me here? Let me know what you think. Good, bad, bird cage liner???? 


	9. Chapter 9

Rushing back inside the ER, Nancy ran up to the nurse at the admissions desk. "I have another emergency and I have to go." She quickly scribbled her cell phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to the nurse. "If Mr. Nickerson's condition changes at all before I get back, please call me at this number," she begged.  
"I will," the nurse promised. She knew that something horrible had to have happened for this distraught young lady to leave her boyfriend's side.  
"Thank you," Nancy said gratefully, and ran back out the front door of St. Joseph's to hail a cab.  
  
'Hurry up!' Nancy wished impatiently. Rush hour had the traffic in downtown Chicago slowed to a crawl. She had to get to the apartment and check on Frank. She couldn't bear the thought of having both Ned and Frank facing life threatening injuries.  
Twenty agonizing minutes later, the cab pulled in front of Nancy's apartment building. Nancy hurriedly threw some money at the driver before sprinting towards her building. She quickly ran through the lobby and to the elevator. Punching the button, Nancy waited in agony for the elevator to arrive. 'God, please let Frank be okay,' she thought to herself.  
The elevator arrived and Nancy quickly stepped inside. She punched the button for the 10th floor, and then began pacing back in forth in the small compartment. When the elevator doors opened on her floor, Nancy ran down the hall as fast as her legs would take her. She paused in front of the front door to her apartment and suddenly realized that Frank had her keys.  
Groaning in frustrating, Nancy dumped her purse unceremoniously on the floor in front of her door. She searched through the pile until she found the small black case that she was looking for. Unzipping the case, Nancy removed her trusty lock picking tools and knelt down to go to work on her front door. When Nancy felt the faint click of the mechanism give way, she let out a sigh of relief. Leaving her things scattered in the hallways, she flung open the front door.  
"Frank? Frank?" Nancy called out as she entered the apartment. "Oh my, God," Nancy muttered as she surveyed the damage to her apartment. She jumped over several piles of personal belongings as she ran from room to room. "Frank?" she called out once again, with no answer.  
Giving up her search, Nancy ran back through the apartment and locked the door behind her. She quickly gathered her items and stuffed them back in her purse. 'The garage!' Nancy thought as she ran back down the hall towards the elevator.  
A few minutes later, Nancy found herself in the garage of her apartment building. She instantly spotted her car at the end of the level. She sprinted across the garage as fast as she could. When she reached her car, she was shocked at the discovery she made. Frank Hardy was sprawled on his back, unconscious.  
"Frank!" Nancy cried as she dropped to her knees next to him. She first checked for a pulse, and was relieved to find one.  
"Frank," she urgently said. "Frank, please wake up." She shook him gently in order to rouse him. After a moment, his eyelids began to flutter.  
  
"Thank God!" Nancy whispered.  
Opening his eyes, Frank found Nancy's worried face inches from his own. "Nancy," he mumbled faintly, "what happened?"  
Nancy released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, and smiled tearfully, "I was hoping you could tell me," she said, gently pressing a hand to his forehead.  
"Masked guy. Baseball bat. Head hurts," Frank managed to say through the throbbing pain he was feeling.  
"I'm sure it does," Nancy agreed. She carefully checked over Frank's scalp and noticed a very large goose egg beginning to form on the top of his head. "That's quite a bump you've got there, Hardy," she informed him. "You okay?"  
"I'll be fine. I've had worse," Frank said as he squeezed his eyes in response to the indescribable pain he was feeling. As soon as his eyes closed, they flew open once again and he gasped. "The CD!"  
"Where was it?" Nancy asked, afraid that they would find the hopefully valuable piece of information missing.  
"Inside my jacket."  
"Which pocket?" Nancy asked gingerly opening his leather jacket.  
"Left," Frank responded.  
Nancy's hand deftly maneuvered it's way inside the pocket, but she came up empty. "Nothing," she told him.  
"Damn," he swore. "They obviously knew what they were looking for." Frank struggled to sit up.  
"Take it easy," Nancy chastised, as she fought to keep him from getting up.  
"I'm okay," he insisted. "Nothing a couple of aspirin and a lot of TLC won't cure."  
Nancy smiled at his lame joke. "Fine, have it your way. But, I'm still taking you back to the hospital so we can make sure you're really okay."  
"Okay," Frank acquiesed.  
"Wait a minute," Nancy stopped as she helped him to his feet. "Didn't you say something in your voice mail about saving the information on your laptop?"  
"I can't believe I forgot about that," Frank groaned as he leaned heavily against Nancy. "I hope whoever it was, didn't see me copying the information, otherwise we're back to square one."  
"Let's hope not," Nancy answered. She opened the car door and helped Frank slide into the passenger seat. "Where's your laptop?"  
Frank fished his car keys out of his jacket. "In the rental. It's that dark blue Taurus halfway down the aisle." He handed Nancy the car keys and said. "It was in the passenger seat."  
Nancy bent down and softly brushed her lips against his in a comforting gesture. "I'll be right back."  
"Be careful, Nan," Frank warned.  
"I'm sure whoever it was that did this to you, is long gone by now. But, I'll be fine. Don't go anywhere," she joked half-heartedly.  
Frank attempted a weak laugh. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."  
Nancy shut the car door and swiftly headed across the garage towards the rental car that Frank had described. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the laptop still ensconced in it's case resting on the passenger seat. She retrieved the computer and walked briskly back to her own Mustang.  
She climbed inside the car and tossed the laptop in the backseat. She stole a glance at Frank who was resting with his eyes closed.  
"How did you find me?" he asked, when he heard her enter the vehicle.  
  
"Whoever hit you, used your cell phone to leave me a nice little message, warning me to stop snooping around. He said 'One boyfriend down, one to go'."  
"What?" Frank exclaimed.  
"Yep," Nancy nodded. "Nice, huh? When I realized how long you had been gone, I got worried about you and went outside to check my messages and there was one from you and one from our friend. The call log on my cell said that both voice mails came from your phone," Nancy explained to him as she maneuvered the car through the parking lot and out into the city streets. "When I couldn't get a hold of you, I took a cab back here. I checked the apartment first, and when I didn't find you, something told me to check the garage. Luckily, I found you."  
Frank reached over and took Nancy's right hand in his left. "Thank you."  
"It's what we do," she smiled. "You get hurt or kidnapped, and I rescue you and vice versa."  
"Cute, Nan, real cute," Frank groaned. "It's been ages since we've had to do that. I was kind of hoping things would calm down in our old age."  
Nancy turned to look at Frank and laughed. "Yeah right," she guffawed. "When have we ever managed to spend anytime together without something like this happening?"  
"There's a first time for everything," Frank reminded her. Remembering why they were in this mess in the first place, he asked Nancy, "Any word on Ned yet?"  
Nancy nodded. "He took two bullets to the chest. They both barely missed his lungs and heart. He's in ICU right now. The doctor said he hoped he would make it, but he lost a lot of blood. The next few days are critical," Nancy said as her voice trailed off.  
Frank squeezed Nancy's hand. "He'll be fine, Nan."  
"I hope you're right." 


	10. Chapter 10

The duo arrived back at the hospital a few minutes later, and Nancy gingerly helped Frank inside. She walked him over to the admission's desk and asked the nurse if someone could check him over. The nurse handed them the requisite paperwork and they took a seat to fill it out.  
Amy noticed the two come in and walked over to them. "What happened?" she asked.  
Frank gently touched the top of his head. "Just a little accident," he answered vaguely. He glanced at Nancy who was debating whether or not to fill Amy in on all the details.  
Nancy motioned for Amy to sit. "Amy, is there something going on that we should know about?"  
"Like what?" Amy asked innocently.  
"Has Ned told you if he's received any threats of any kind?"  
Amy eyes widened at the question. "Not that I know of, why?"  
"Well, first our apartment gets ransacked, and Ned gets shot in the process. Then Frank here, got attacked by someone in the garage of our building. Somehow, I don't think these two things were coincidences."  
"He never said anything to me," Amy replied. "But then, after meeting you, I realized that there was a lot I didn't know about him."  
'You're not the only one,' Nancy thought to herself. "Had he been acting strange to you at all?" she questioned.  
"Not, really. I wish that there was something to tell you, but he's just like any other guy I've ever dated." Amy's hand flew to her mouth when she realized what she was saying. "I'm sorry," she apologized profusely, "I didn't mean to rub it in or anything."  
Nancy sighed. The more she talked to Amy, it seemed like she was really an innocent pawn in this tangled relationship. She did appear to be a very genuine and sincere person, who had just been unlucky to have gotten mixed up in this complex situation. "It's okay," Nancy said accepting her apology.  
Nancy stole a glance at Frank, he had been listening to the conversation while he was filling out paperwork. His eyes met hers and she knew that he believed that Amy was just as innocent as Nancy did.  
"Why don't you go home and get some rest?" Nancy offered the young woman. "The doctor said that he wouldn't wake up until sometime in the morning anyway. There's nothing you can do but sit here and worry. If you give me your number, I promise that I'll call you if anything changes."  
"You look like you need to rest as well," Amy countered. "I could say the say the same thing to you."  
"Yeah, well, unfortunately I think Frank and I are going to be here for a while." Nancy glanced around the bustling emergency room and realized that it would probably be a while before anyone would be out to check on him. Bumps on the head, even large ones, weren't high on the triage list as some of the other things the staff was dealing with.  
"If you're sure..."  
"I'm positive. Go home and rest. If anything changes, I'll call you."  
The young brunette smiled gratefully at Nancy as she stood up and collected her things. "Thank you," she said simply. "Nancy, I... I really appreciate you being so kind to me. I'm not sure I would be as understanding if the situation was reversed."  
Nancy shrugged her shoulders, "That's just not the kind of person I am. But, you're welcome."  
Amy scribbled her number on a scrap of paper and handed it to Nancy. "Thanks, again."  
  
Frank finished filling out his paperwork and returned it to the clerk at the desk. When he sat back down, he put an arm around Nancy's shoulders and pulled her close to him. "You're a good person, Nancy Drew," he said affectionately. "She's right, you know. I don't know if I would be as understanding if I was in your position."  
Nancy glanced up at Frank and sighed. "I never said it was easy."  
He lightly ruffled Nancy's hair and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "I don't doubt for one minute that it is. But it takes a strong person to put something like that behind them for the sake of someone else."  
"I just I knew what the hell was going on here," Nancy said, frustration evident in her voice.  
"Me, too. And as soon as they tell me that I'm okay, we're heading straight to my hotel and checking out what I stored on my laptop."  
Nancy nodded, "I hope it can shed some light on this whole mess." She stood up and faced Frank. "I need coffee. Do you want some?"  
"That would be great. One cream," he started.  
"And two sugars," Nancy finished for him.  
"You still remember after all this time how I take my coffee?" Frank asked incredulously.  
Nancy smiled and replied, "Don't flatter yourself, Hardy. I just remembered that we both take our coffee the same way."  
"Oh," Frank said sheepishly.  
Nancy laughed at the embarrassed look on Frank's face. "I'll be right back." 


	11. Chapter 11

"I just want to take a hot shower and go to sleep," Frank moaned to Nancy as he inserted the key into his hotel room lock.  
"I second that," Nancy agreed. Three hours after returning to the hospital, Frank had been checked over and released. The doctor that treated him informed him that he had a mid-grade concussion. He had wanted Frank to be admitted overnight as a precaution, but Frank refused. So the doctor prescribed some strong ibuprofen to quell the pain, and instructed Nancy that Frank would need to be wakened every 3 hours during the night. "But unfortunately, because of your hard head," Nancy teased, "neither one of us will be getting much sleep tonight. I hope you can figure out how to work the hotel's alarm clock."  
"Don't remind me," Frank groaned. After leaving the hospital, they had returned once more to Nancy's apartment. Nancy didn't have the energy to deal with mess that was her home, so they agreed they would spend the night at the hotel where Frank was staying.  
Nancy grinned at Frank as they walked into the room. "Nice room on the NYPD tab," she commented as she sat her overnight bag down on the small loveseat.  
"Surprised me, too," Frank replied. "But, since the meetings are all in the convention center downstairs, it was the logical place to stay." He rubbed a hand over his tired face as he too sat his belongings down.  
Nancy stepped closer to Frank and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go jump in the shower?" she suggested. "While you're in there I'll order us some room service. Any preferences?"  
Frank shook his head no. "Whatever you're having is fine. I could eat cardboard at this point and not know the difference."  
"Shower. Now," she pointed towards the bathroom. "You'll feel much better when you're out."  
"Yes ma'am," Frank grinned.  
Once Nancy heard the shower running she found the room service menu and called downstairs and placed their order. She crawled up on the large king size bed and leaned back against the pillows, closing her eyes. She felt utterly drained, as the days events replayed themselves in her mind. 'Please let this whole fiasco be resolved quickly,' she thought to herself.  
She opened her eyes and eyed the laptop case sitting on the small sofa. If she had known where or how Frank saved the information he had copied, she would've instantly jumped up to investigate. But knowing Frank she knew that the information was so deeply embedded in code, that he would be the only one able to unlock the file. Sighing, she closed her eyes once again and attempted to push all the ragged emotions from her mind.  
A few minutes later the bathroom door opened and steam rushed out into the bedroom. Nancy sat up and saw Frank emerge, wearing only towel wrapped around his waist. 'If we didn't have information to go over, and if we weren't both so exhausted...' Nancy let the thought trail off.  
Frank took a seat on the edge of the bed and studied Nancy's face. She looked as worn out as he felt. "You okay?" he asked.  
She nodded wearily. "Just trying to process it all."  
"We'll figure it all out, Nan. We always do." he promised. He pulled her towards him and brushed his lips slightly against hers.  
Resting her head on his shoulder, Nancy felt herself relax into Frank's comforting embrace. He was always so positive, even when things looked their absolute bleakest. That was one of the things she admired about him. He never failed to be a source of endless optimism. "Thank you," she said quietly.  
"For what?" he asked as he gently rubbed circles on her back.  
"For just being you," she responded simply, as she pulled back to look him the eye.  
He pressed another soft kiss to her lips, before standing up. He walked over to the dresser drawers and pulled out a pair of boxers and a t- shirt. "Be right back," he said, retreating back into the bathroom. When Frank emerged from the bathroom once more, he found Nancy setting up the laptop computer on the desk.  
Nancy looked over her shoulder at Frank, "Are you sure you copied everything off of the cd?" she questioned.  
"Ye of little faith," Frank laughed. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" He walked over to the desk and stood behind Nancy.  
"Sorry," she grinned sheepishly. She inhaled his clean and comforting fragrance as he placed both of his arms on either side of Nancy and began typing on the keyboard.  
A few seconds later, text began scrolling down the screen. "Voila," he announced.  
"What is it?" Nancy asked, confused at the images streaming across the monitor.  
"I encrypted it," Frank replied. "Give it another minute and we'll have the information."  
Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Room service," a voice called from out in the hallway. Frank stepped away from the desk and headed towards the door. Ever careful, he peered through the peephole and saw a uniformed hotel worker behind a rolling cart. Satisfied at what he saw, Frank unchained and unlocked the door. "Just set it over here," he motioned towards the desk, as he walked back towards Nancy.  
The attendant wheeled the cart into the room and sat the items next to the computer. "Just set the dishes outside your door when you are finished," he instructed.  
"Will do," Frank nodded absently as he waited for the information to appear on the screen.  
"Have a good evening, sir, ma'am," the young man said pleasantly as he retreated back into the hallway.  
"Grab that other chair," Nancy told Frank as she reached for the sandwiches she had ordered them. She placed the club sandwich in front of Frank and then picked up her own.  
Seconds later a report popped up on the screen. "Bingo!" Frank said as he took a bite of one of his sandwich.  
"It looks like a bank statement," Nancy commented as she glanced over the images on the screen.  
"That's exactly what it is," Frank replied. "Credits and Deposits, and rather large ones at that," he said pointing to the columns of numbers.  
"But who does it belong too?" Nancy questioned.  
Frank scrolled up and back down the pages in front of them. "There is no personal information on here. Nothing identifying who these entries belong to." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Nan - is there anyway this could be Ned's account?"  
Nancy sucked in a quiet breath at the thought. "No!" she exclaimed. "I mean," she said more quietly, "Frank, I would know if Ned was spending that kind of money."  
"Are you sure about that?"  
"C'mon, Frank," Nancy said, beginning to get annoyed. "I promise you, I would know if this kind of money was going in and out of our house each month."  
Frank sat his half eaten sandwich back on the plate. "Forgive me for saying this," he started, "but you didn't exactly know about his girlfriend on the side, either," he reminded her gently.  
Nancy abruptly pushed the plate away from her. "Suddenly, I'm not very hungry anymore," she announced standing up. She walked over to the loveseat and grabbed her overnight bag and headed towards the bathroom.  
"Nancy, I'm sorry," Frank pleaded to her retreating form. Her only reply was the slamming of the bathroom door.  
  
Nancy let her emotions overtake her as she stepped into the scalding hot shower. This had been the day from hell and she couldn't seem to get a firm grip on her emotions. As the tears fell down her face, she let go of all the pent up anger, frustration, and hurt that had been swirling like a tornado inside her. She knew that Frank wasn't trying to hurt her with that last comment he had made. He was simply being the objective one, and stating something that could be a very real possibility. And with Ned still laying unconscious in a hospital bed, they wouldn't know anything for sure until he awoke.  
  
Frank sighed. 'Dammit, Hardy,' he cursed himself. 'Why did you have to go and upset her like that?' He knew that she was having trouble battling her emotions all day long, and his last comment had driven the proverbial final nail in the coffin. But he also knew that Nancy was a reasonably rational person and as soon as she had time to clear her head, she would realize that he wasn't trying to hurt her.  
He looked at the computer monitor and muttered, "Screw it. We'll deal with it in the morning." He powered off the laptop and turned off the desk lamp. Walking over to bed, he paused at the night stand to set the alarm to go off in three hours. He then pulled the covers down and crawled inside. He just wanted this day to be over with and the sooner he fell asleep, the better. He would apologize in the morning, when they were both rested and calm enough to be objective.  
Before he could fall asleep, Frank heard the bathroom door open. He didn't say anything as he felt Nancy crawl into bed beside him.  
Frank was laying on his side, his back to her. Nancy placed a gentle hand on Frank's shoulder and said his name softly. "Frank?" she whispered.  
"Yeah?"  
"I'm sorry," she answered.  
Frank shifted and flipped over to face her. "So am I," he apologized. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, Nan."  
"I know that," she sighed.  
"Come here," Frank said softly. He opened up his arms and Nancy snuggled close against him with her head on his chest. He placed his cheek against her head and gently stroked her hair. "It will all look better in the morning," he whispered soothingly.  
"Goodnight, Frank," she mumbled sleepily.  
"Night, Nan" he replied.  
Nancy's eyes closed and she felt Frank's ministrations lull her into a relaxed state. Within minutes she was asleep. 


	12. Chapter 12

"I just called the hospital," Nancy informed Frank as she ran a brush through her shoulder length blonde hair.  
"And?" he prompted. Frank stepped out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.  
"He woke up about an hour ago." She checked her image in the mirror and satisfied with what she saw, she turned back to look at Frank. "So, as soon as you're ready, we can head on over there," Nancy replied.  
"Give me just another minute, then we can go."  
"Sure," she replied, stifling a yawn. The alarm had gone off twice during the night, and each time Nancy asked Frank the mandatory questions of "who are you? where are you? and who am I?" in order to make sure that there were no complications from Frank's concussion.  
A few seconds later, Frank emerged from the bathroom and grabbed his jacket off of the desk chair. "Let's go."  
As the two walked out of the hotel room, Nancy asked, "How's your head?"  
"I have a headache," he admitted. "But, I just popped some aspirin, so I'll be fine."  
Nancy paused in the middle of the hallway. "Maybe you should just stay here and get some more rest," she offered. "I can talk to Ned by myself."  
"Not gonna happen," Frank countered, as he turned to face her. "We don't know how deep this whole mess is, and I'm not leaving you alone to figure it out."  
"I'm a big girl, Frank," she chided him. "I can handle myself, you know."  
"I know that," he said calmly. "But we don't know who we're dealing with yet. Nan, I had my sidearm strapped on yesterday, and looked what happened." Frank gingerly touched the top of his head for emphasis.  
Nancy sighed. "Point taken. But if your headache doesn't subside soon, you're coming back here to rest, agreed?"  
"Agreed." He threw an arm around Nancy's shoulders and they continued towards the elevator. "Now let's go find out just what in the hell is going on around here."  
  
During the ride to the hospital, Frank's cell phone rang. He pulled the phone from the pocket of his leather jacket and grinned when he saw the number displayed on the LCD screen. Frank glanced over at Nancy and smiled. Flipping open the phone he greeted the person on the other end, "Hey, baby brother!"  
Nancy laughed as she heard him speak to his brother. Joe Hardy, a year younger than Frank, was also a dear friend of Nancy's. The two brothers were very close to one another and each loved to tease the other. They put up with each other's good natured ribbing on an almost continual basis.  
"Frank, it's only a year," Joe laughed. "When are you going to get over it already?"  
"Never," Frank laughed right back. "So, what's going on?"  
Joe sighed on the other end of the phone. "Frank, you've got to get me out of here."  
"What's wrong?" Frank asked, suddenly concerned.  
"Vanessa's about to drive me right over the edge," Joe began. "I swear to God, I just want us to get on a plane to Vegas tonight and elope. She's turning into a basket case, Frank!"  
Nancy glanced at Frank and she saw the tension subside from his face. She raised her eyebrows in question and Frank mouthed 'Vanessa'.  
"Well Joe, it is a pretty big day for her. She's got a lot to be worried about," he reminded his brother.  
"That's just it," Joe replied. "She worries too much! It's like she's turned into some sort of monster over this whole damn thing. It's like she morphs into Bridezilla when wedding plans come up in conversation."  
Frank chuckled at Joe's explanation. "It can't be that bad."  
"Oh brother, you have no idea. She went absolutely livid when the invitations arrived the other day. She sent them back to the printer just because the dark blue ink wasn't the right shade of dark blue. How many damn kinds of dark blue ink are there anyway?" Joe sighed once more as he explained Vanessa's behavior.  
"Hey, Nan," Frank asked with a grin on his face. "How many colors of dark blue are there?"  
Knowing this had to have something to do with the wedding plans, Nancy decided to take Vanessa's side in the argument. "Well, let's see. There's royal blue, midnight blue, and navy blue for starters."  
"See Joe," Frank laughed at his younger brother's situation. "Nancy can name at least three kinds off the top of her head."  
"Nancy?" Joe asked. "Nancy Drew?"  
"The one and only," Frank responded.  
"What are you... oh that's right!" Joe said as recognition dawned. "I forgot that meeting was in Chicago. Tell her I said hello."  
Frank turned to Nancy, "Joe says hi."  
"Hi, Joe!" Nancy sweetly chirped as loud as she could.  
Turning his attention back to the phone Frank asked, "So what would you say if I had an excuse to get you out of wedding plan hell and over to Chicago?"  
Joe snorted. "Are you kidding me? I'd be on the first plane out in the morning! Of course I might not be engaged when I get back..."  
"Trust me, I think Van would understand. Let me explain what's going on over here." Frank quickly filled his brother in on what had transpired the last two days.  
"Damn," Joe whistled when Frank finished telling him the story.  
"So what do you say? Feel like having a Hardy Brothers-Nancy Drew reunion?" Frank asked.  
"Count me in. I've got a few days off due to me. I'll let Van know what's going on and then I'll call you back as soon as I get a flight," Joe promised his brother.  
"Thanks, Joe. Nancy and I appreciate it," Frank said sincerely.  
"Is there something else going on I should know about?" Joe teased.  
"Call me back with your flight information," Frank replied, ignoring Joe's comments. He didn't want to discuss the details of whatever was happening between himself and Nancy in front of her. "Bye."  
He clicked the off button before Joe could reply and turned to Nancy. "The calvary will be arriving in the morning," he said with a laugh. 


	13. Chapter 13

Twenty minutes later, Frank and Nancy found themselves in front of Ned's hospital room. The nurses at the station had informed them they had only a half hour to visit with him. He was alert but still groggy from some of the pain killers. She also mentioned to Nancy that he had been asking for her repeatedly.  
As Nancy went to open the door to the hospital room, Frank put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "Maybe it would be best if I waited out here for you," he offered.  
Nancy bit her lip as she mulled over his words. On one hand, she wanted Frank to go in with her, to help decipher anything Ned could tell her about what was going on. On the other hand, she didn't want to upset Ned by seeing Frank arrive with her. "Do you mind?" she asked softly.  
"Not at all," he replied, enveloping her in a warm hug. "I'll be right out here if you need me."  
"Thanks." As Frank walked away, she took a deep breath to steel her before pushing open the door.  
She had seen people in hospitals before, but she was still shocked at the sight of Ned lying in the bed. He looked extremely pale, despite the bruises on his face. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages, and there was an iv connected to his right arm. Monitors whirred all around him.  
She stepped quietly into the room. His eyes were closed and she didn't want to startle him. "Ned?" she said softly as she walked towards the bed.  
His eyes fluttered open and he choked out a single word, "Nancy."  
She fought the tears that were attempting to surface and she plastered a smile across her face. She gingerly picked up his left hand and simply said, "Hey."  
"Hey," Ned echoed.  
"How are you feeling?" Nancy asked.  
"Like shit," Ned answered.  
Nancy laughed softly as she stared at his marred face. "You scared me," she whispered.  
Ned's brown eyes gazed at Nancy, and he squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, Nan. For everything."  
"Me, too." Nancy removed her hand and walked away from the bed. She grabbed a chair and pulled it up alongside where Ned was laying.  
Sitting in the chair she fixed a long gaze on Ned. "Tell me what's going on," she demanded gently.  
Ned sighed, "It's a long story, Nancy."  
"You're not going anywhere," Nancy pointed out. "I promise I won't get mad. Just tell me the truth."  
"Okay," Ned agreed. "But, first I just want to tell you that I love you, Nan. I never meant to hurt you. You have to believe that," he pleaded.  
Nancy nodded, but didn't respond. She wanted to hear his version of the events before she could make a determination on whether or not he was being sincere.  
"Let me start at the beginning," Ned began. "Do you remember me introducing you to my boss, Paul Wheeler at the company Christmas party?"  
"Tall guy, blonde hair?" Nancy asked.  
"That's the one. Anyway, Paul's family never had a lot of money growing up. He was a smart kid, but his parent's couldn't afford to send him to college. Paul worked two jobs and between student loans and the money he brought in from working, he managed to send himself to school. He racked up a lot of debt in loans in the process. I know for a fact, that he's still paying them off," Ned related to Nancy.  
"What does this..." Nancy started to say.  
Ned feebly raised a hand to stop her. "I'm getting there. So, right around the New Year, Paul starts to spend money like it's growing on trees. He buys a brand new sports car, a new wardrobe, and even bought an out of this world condo that overlooks Lake Michigan."  
"But, he shouldn't have the money for these things," Nancy interrupts.  
"Right. Like I said, I know he's still paying off student loans. I also know that even though he's my boss, he doesn't make much more than I do. A couple of thousand at most. Not near the amount of money he would need in order to afford all of these extravagant items." Ned paused and asked Nancy to hand him some water.  
Nancy dutifully grabbed the glass off of the stand and raised the straw to his lips. "Easy," she said as she watched him gulp down the cool liquid.  
"Thanks," Ned replied. "So everyone at the office starts joking with Paul about which old relative died, or how much did he win in the lottery. He laughed everyone off but never would say how he came into the money."  
"Most people are pretty private about their finances, Ned," Nancy said.  
"True, but most people have the bankroll to back up their spending. I'm telling you, Nan. Everyone in that office knew that there was no way he could afford all of those things. And what was really strange was that Gerry, Paul's brother who works in the accounting department, started to show the same type of extravagance."  
Nancy's mind quickly flashed with an image of the bank account she and Frank had seen last night. She pushed the thought away to let Ned continue with his story. She would ask him about it, as soon as he provided her with more details.  
Ned sighed and continued. "Well I guess that I've known you so long, you've started to rub off on me. I just couldn't let it go. I had to know what was going on, but I didn't want anyone to know that I was trying to find."  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Nancy interrupted.  
"Because I had a gut feeling that whatever it was, was pretty deep. And I didn't want you involved," he said firmly. "Looks like I was right. If you had known what was going on, this could be you lying here instead of me. I just couldn't bear the thought of you getting hurt."  
"But, Ned..."  
"Just let me finish, okay?"  
Nancy nodded and let him continue with his story.  
"The girl you saw me with the other night is Amy Durham. She's," Ned said.  
"Paul's secretary," Nancy finished for him.  
"How do you know that?" Ned questioned.  
"We had little chat in the emergency room yesterday when you were brought in. I'll tell you about it later. Continue, please," she answered.  
Ned looked at her warily, "Amy's a nice girl, Nan. I could kick myself for getting her involved in all of this." He paused and motioned for more water. After taking another long sip, he continued.  
"So, I decided the best way to figure out what was going on, would be to befriend Amy. She and Paul were more like friends than a boss and employee, so I thought that maybe she could shed some light on everything. I started asking her out to lunch and then that morphed into after dinner drinks and dinner. I swear Nancy, I... I was just seeing her to uncover what was going on," Ned promised.  
Nancy swallowed the lump in her throat and questioned again, "Why couldn't you tell me?"  
"Like I said, I didn't want you getting hurt. By the time we started seeing each other outside of work, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on. That and you and I had such crazy schedules, we never saw each other anyway. I know I should've told you. I see that now. I didn't mean for you to get hurt." Anger flashed momentarily in Ned's eyes, "I sure never expected anything that's happened in the last two days to happen," he said, referring to Frank Hardy. 


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: It may seem like slow going right now but, I promise you the ride is gonna be worth the wait. It may take a little longer than I had anticipated, but the Nancy, Frank, and Joe (among others) are giving me fits at the moment. I crave feedback - good and bad - so give me an honest opinion on what you guys are thinking. To all of those that have reviewed my little story - thanks so much! I hope you're enjoying it. Now, on with the story...  
  
While Nancy was talking to Ned, Frank was bored with sitting in the waiting room. He had spent far too much time in the hospital over the last couple of days. He walked over to the nurses station and let them know he was going to step outside. If he wasn't back by the time Nancy was done talking to Ned, they would tell her where to find him.  
He was also a little worried about Ned trying to smooth things over with Nancy. Even though he doubted it, there was always the chance that Ned did have a good explanation for being with Amy. Frank just hoped that there wouldn't be one, so that he could explore this new facet of his relationship with Nancy.  
Walking down the corridor, Frank sighed to himself and pulled out his cell phone. He waited until he was outside the hospital doors before turning it on. He'd call Joe back and see if he was able to get a ticket. He also knew that Joe wanted to know exactly what was going on between he and Nancy, and Frank figured while he was alone, he could fill him in.  
"Hey, Frank - good news," Joe said by way of a greeting.  
Frank laughed, "Vanessa decided it would be good if you got of her hair for a couple of days, huh?"  
"Very funny," Joe replied sarcastically. "Actually, Van freaked  
out on me at first, but once I explained what was going on, she agreed that I needed to come rescue you."  
"Shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you, Joe," Frank warned his brother teasingly. "I could always tell my future sister-in-law what you actually called me for in the first place."  
Joe groaned in defeat. "Fine you win."  
Frank laughed once more at his brother. "So bro, what time is your flight out in the morning?"  
Joe perked up at Frank's comment. "Actually, that's the good news. I'm flying out this afternoon instead. I leave LaGuardia at 4:30 and get into O'Hare at 7:30 local time."  
"That's great!" Frank said excitedly. "I'll let Nan know and we'll pick you up and then head to dinner so we can bounce ideas off each other and try to figure out this mess."  
"Speaking of Nancy," Joe began. "Wanna fill me in on what's happening with the two of you?"  
Frank sighed. "It's kind of complicated, Joe."  
Joe snickered at his brother's predicament. "When has it ever not been complicated with the two of you?"  
"Smartass," Frank replied.  
"Just fill me in," Joe said, his laughter subsiding.  
"Well, you know how I told you that Ned got shot, right?" Frank started. Joe mumbled an uh-huh over the phone and Frank continued. "Well, what I left out was, the night before he got shot, Nancy caught him cheating on her. She, Bess, and George spotted him out at some restaurant, and she called him on it. She kicked him out of the apartment and told him to come get everything the next day."  
"Geez!" Joe exclaimed. "First Callie and then Ned." Joe paused as he realized what he had just said out loud. "Frank, I didn't mean to..."  
"It's okay, really." his brother interrupted him. "So anyway, that was Friday night. I had left a message on Nancy's machine seeing if she wanted to meet up the next day. She never returned my call, so later on I tried her cell. Guess she left it in Bess's car after the whole dinner fiasco. Bess filled me in and suggested that I go over and see her that night."  
Joe smiled at the thought of Bess, the biggest flirt he knew, besides himself. "How's Bess doing?" he asked.  
"Getting married, too." Frank replied. Before Joe could say anything else, he continued with his story. "So, I go over to Nan's and we sat on the couch with a bottle of wine and talked for a while. She told me what happened with Ned, I filled her in on the Callie story. We reminisced about some of our old cases, and the next I thing I know..."  
"Don't you dare stop there!" Joe cried. "You slept with her, didn't you?"  
"I spent the night," Frank said evasively. He still wasn't comfortable telling his brother all of the details about any of his relationships. He had never been one to kiss and tell.  
"Which means, yes," Joe countered. "Way to go, Frank."  
"Joe," Frank warned.  
"What?" he replied innocently. "I'm happy for you, bro. You and Nancy always had a thing, but you never would do anything about it because of Callie and Ned. Now you can. I hope it works out for you."  
"Me, too," Frank admitted. Switching gears he asked, "What's your flight number?"  
Frank could hear Joe fumbling through pieces of paper. "Um... oh here it is. It's United flight 456. Comes in at 7:30 your time. Don't forget me."  
"We won't," he replied. "Well, I'm gonna go back in and wait for Nancy, she's talking to Ned."  
"Okay. Guess I'll see you guys tonight, then," Joe replied.  
"We'll be there," Frank said. "Bye."  
"Bye," Joe answered. 


	15. Chapter 15

Nancy sighed heavily. She wasn't going to fight with Ned. She had acted on instinct when she had caught him with Amy, and refused to listen to his explanations. How was she to have known that he really wasn't cheating on her? It had certainly looked that way in the restaurant. Yes, she turned to Frank for comfort when he appeared on her doorstep, but at the time, Nancy was acting on the only thing she knew. Ned had cheated on her and she kicked him out. At that point in her mind, Nancy was now free to do whatever she wanted. "Not now," Nancy told him firmly. "Finish your story."  
"One night, when I was working late, I stopped by Paul's office to see Amy. There were brochures on her desk of custom boats that Paul was interested in buying. He had her calling the different companies and finding out more information. While she was on the phone, I said that I needed to get a file from his office and I logged on to his computer instead." Ned shook his head sadly. "What I found blew me away."  
"Bank statements," Nancy said.  
Ned's eyebrows raised in question, "How do you..."  
Nancy waved him off, "Later. Tell me the rest."  
"So, anyway, I copied all of the information on to a cd. Then I found two very suspicious claims files. I think I know what he's doing, Nan. I'm pretty sure that he's approving claims for much more than they're worth, and with Gerry's help in accounting, he's skimming the money off the top, and then settling the claim with the client for a reasonable amount. The company thinks they're normal claims, the customers are happy to be getting as much as they are, and no one is the wiser. But, I can't prove it yet. So anyway, just as I found these two files, I heard Amy call for me. There was no time to copy the information, so I quickly turned off the computer and went out to the outer office. She was ready to go home, so I had to leave. I walked her downstairs to her car and I asked her if she knew anything out of the ordinary that was going on with Paul. I was about to spill everything to her, when Paul appeared," Ned said with disgust evident in his voice.  
Nancy squeezed Ned's hand and motioned for him to continue.  
"So, I asked Amy out for dinner the following night and I planned to let her in on what I knew, to see if she could help me figure out the rest. That was two days ago at the sushi restaurant," he finished.  
Nancy let the information sink in. It sounded to her as if Paul and his brother were some way embezzling money. She fixed a gaze on Ned, "Is Paul the one that did this to you?"  
Ned nodded. "He came over after you left the apartment and we started arguing. He told me that I had nothing on him and that I would never be able to prove anything. We started fighting and the next thing I know he pulled out a gun. I don't remember anything after that."  
"After he shot you, he ransacked the apartment to make it look like a robbery. Amy came over and found you. She called 9-1-1 and they rushed you here. Our apartment manager called me, and I came as soon as I heard," Nancy filled him in.  
"So that's when you met Amy," he prompted.  
Nancy nodded. "We, uh... Frank was still with me. We asked her what happened and she told us that she found you at the apartment. She said that you kept saying my name and mumbling something about a desk."  
Ned's eyes lit up as he remembered. "That's right! I put the cd in with all of our important papers."  
Nancy smiled. "When she said desk, I had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about. Of course I had no idea what to look for."  
"You found it?" Ned asked excitedly.  
"Frank did, actually," Nancy admitted. "I didn't want to leave you, so he offered to go back to the apartment and check it out. That's when he got attacked."  
Ned gasped, "Do what?"  
"He apparently found the cd and he was quick thinking enough to copy all of the contents on his laptop. He was walking back to my car, when someone hit him on the head with a baseball bat," she answered.  
"Is he okay?"  
"A concussion," she nodded. Nancy shuddered as she filled Ned in on the phone call, and finding Frank unconscious next to her car.  
"It had to have been Paul," Ned surmised.  
"Now that I've heard the story, I think so, too," Nancy agreed. "Have you talked to the police yet?" Nancy questioned.  
Ned shook his head no. "I'm sure they'll be by later on today. But if I had to wager a bet, I'd say that Paul is going to skip town. He's got enough money to just disappear."  
"Well, we're not going to let that happen," Nancy promised. "Joe is flying in tomorrow to help us out. We're going to catch him," she insisted.  
Ned grasped Nancy's hand and apologized once more. "God, Nan - I'm so sorry. Do you think we can put all this behind us?" he asked hopefully.  
Nancy bit her lip and looked down at their joined hands. When she looked back up at Ned, she saw his brown eyes filled with concern and love. "I... I don't know," she admitted. "You lied to me, Ned. We always promised that we would never keep anything from each other. I know you had your reasons, but it still hurts."  
"You went to Frank," he countered. "Don't you know how much that hurt me when I saw you two together?"  
"I'm sure it did. You probably felt the same way I felt the night before," she answered calmly. "I just don't know why you felt that you couldn't tell me." Recognition dawned on her face and she looked at Ned closely. "You fell for her, didn't you? You didn't plan on it, but it happened."  
"Nancy, I..." he began  
"The truth, Ned, please. That's all I'm asking for is the truth," Nancy said softly.  
Ned's eyes left Nancy's and he looked everywhere but at her. "I didn't mean for it to happen," he answered in a low voice.  
Nancy pressed her lips together in a tight line. She found herself once again fighting the emotions that raged inside of her. She counted to ten inside her head before she said anything. "Then your answer is no, Ned. There is no way for us to put this behind us. I love you, but I... I can't trust you anymore. I can't spend the rest of my life always wondering if there is someone else when you tell you me that you're working late. I just won't do it."  
Ned glanced up at Nancy with a sad expression on his face. He picked up her hand once more, and said, "I'm truly sorry, Nan."  
"So am I," she replied, truthfully. She banished the depressing thoughts from her mind and said, "But, the important thing here is that you need to concentrate on getting better. And I have to concentrate on helping you out of this mess."  
What Ned said next shocked Nancy, "Tell Frank I said thank you."  
Nancy cocked her head to the side and looked at him curiously. "I will," she answered slowly.  
"I hope he treats you well, Nan. Better than I did," Ned began. "And I know this sounds crazy coming out of my mouth, but God help him if he ever does anything to hurt you. He'll have to answer to me."  
Nancy chuckled softly. "I don't doubt that for a minute." She stood up and pressed a soft kiss on Ned's forehead. "Get well soon. I'll either call or come by as soon as we get a lead on Paul and his brother."  
Ned nodded and whispered a soft, "Bye, Nan," as he watched her walk out of the hospital room. 


	16. Chapter 16

Frank was walking down the corridor just as Nancy stepped out of Ned's room. She had a somber look on her face, and Frank approached her slowly. "You okay?" he asked quietly.  
Nancy nodded when she saw the concern in his eyes. "Let's get out of here and I'll tell you all about it."  
A half hour later, the two found themselves in the Italian style restaurant of Frank's hotel. After being seated Nancy began to relate what Ned had told her. She explained what Ned had found and what his suspicions were, but that he had yet to prove them.  
"So, Ned's boss, Paul and his brother Gerry are embezzling funds?" Frank asked for clarification.  
"Looks that way," Nancy replied, taking a sip of her water. "He didn't have time to copy the claims information, but that's what he suspects."  
"Interesting scheme," Frank commented. "The insurance company has no idea, because the customers aren't complaining. It's the perfect set up with Gerry working in the accounting department. Paul approves the claims for a certain amount, and Gerry takes the cut."  
"We just have to find something that proves it. Ned knows that it was Paul that shot him, and he'll be telling the police that later on. He's afraid that he'll just skip town if the police start snooping around. Apparently, he has enough money to just disappear," Nancy stated.  
"Unfortunately," Frank began, "I don't think the police have anything to nail on Paul. I'd be willing to bet that all they'll have is Ned's statement. I doubt that Paul left a shred of evidence connecting him to the crime, besides Ned's word. I'm sure he'll have his brother state that they were together during the shooting."  
"I know," Nancy replied. "They'll question him, but I'm sure he'll claim to have an alibi."  
Just then the waitress arrived to take their orders. Nancy ordered the Baked Ziti and Frank asked for the Chicken Parmesean. "Both good choices," the motherly waitress said with a smile. "I'll be back in a few with your meals."  
When the waitress had walked away, Frank looked at Nancy and said, "Almost forgot. I talked to Joe while you were in with Ned. He managed to get a flight out tonight. We need to pick him up at 7:30."  
Nancy's face broke into a grin. "That's great."  
"What do you want to do until then?" Frank asked.  
Nancy thought carefully for a moment. "I think we should call Amy and let her know what's going on," she answered.  
"Do you think that's such a good idea? I mean, she seemed sincere and all, but what if she is working with Paul and Gerry," Frank countered.  
Nancy shook her head no. "My gut is telling me that she's not, Frank. I think she's innocent. She really seems to care about Ned, and he didn't give any indication that he thinks that she's part of it."  
Frank wasn't one hundred percent convinced, but he didn't want to argue with Nancy's gut feeling. He had discovered time and time again, that her instincts were usually right. "So, Ned was just dating Amy to get information on Paul?" he questioned.  
Nancy hadn't told him about Ned's revelation that he had fallen for Paul's secretary. She had just let him know that Ned had asked Amy out under false pretenses to get information on Paul. She sighed before answering Frank. "At first." She paused and took another sip of her water. "Apparently, he ended up falling for her. He says he didn't mean to, but it just happened. Then he actually asked me if I could forgive him."  
Frank silently cursed Ned. As much as he didn't want there to be a reason that Ned had been dating Amy, he would've rather that had been the case, then having Ned hurt Nancy this way. He reached over and laid his hand on top of hers. "What did you say?" he asked gently.  
Nancy looked into Frank's dark brown eyes before answering. She squeezed his hand gently and said, "I told him that I couldn't forgive him. That I won't spend the rest of my life wondering if working dinners were really working dinners."  
"I'm sorry," Frank said simply.  
"It's okay," Nancy replied. She gave him a small smile and said, "He said to tell you thank you for helping him out."  
Frank smiled back and rubbed his thumb across Nancy's hand. He paused a moment to gather his thoughts before responding. "Nan, the only reason I'm helping him out is because you care about him. It's really you that I'm here for," he said sincerely.  
Nancy smiled at Frank's sentiment. "I know," she replied. "And he also told me to tell you that if you ever hurt me like he did, that you would have to answer to him."  
Frank laughed briefly. He stared into Nancy's bright blue eyes and told her solemnly, "I hope you know I would never do that. I care about you too much."  
Nancy practically melted at Frank's words. It wasn't a declaration of love, but it was enough for right now. Anything else would have been too much, too soon. "I care about you too," she replied softly.  
The waitress chose that moment to break the spell. "Here you are. One Ziti and one Chicken Parm," she announced setting the plates down in front of them. "Can I get you two anything else?"  
Nancy removed her hand from Franks, and shook her head. She glanced at Frank before looking up at the waitress, "I think we're okay, for now," she smiled.  
The waitress chuckled at Nancy's comment. She may have been old, but she wasn't blind. Anyone could see that these two had chemistry. She winked at Nancy after sneaking a quick glance at Frank. "I'm sure you are, dearie."  
The two laughed as the waitress sauntered away and all conversation was forgotten as the hungrily devoured their meals. 


	17. Chapter 17

"After a meal like that, I just want to take a nap," Frank groaned as he stepped inside the hotel room. Taking off his jacket, he eyed the neatly made bed longingly.  
"Go ahead," Nancy motioned. "In fact, if I can't get a hold of Amy, I might just join you. We have awhile until we have to pick up Joe."  
"What are you going to tell her?" Frank queried, sitting on the edge of the bed, removing his shoes.  
Nancy sighed as she dug through her purse to find Amy's number. "If Ned hasn't already told her what happened with Paul, I guess it's up to me to fill her in. I'm hoping that maybe tomorrow morning, she can help me into Paul's office before he gets there."  
"Why don't you let Joe do it instead?" Frank asked as he leaned back against the pillows.  
Nancy turned around to look at Frank, "Why would I do that?"  
"Because Paul has met you before, and he obviously knows I'm connected to the two of you somehow. So, Joe is the obvious choice," Frank answered.  
Nancy mock glared at Frank. "I hate it when you're right."  
She found the slip of paper she was looking for and pulled out her cell phone. Sitting down at the desk, she dialed Amy's number. The phone rang four times and then went to voice mail. "Hi, this is Amy. I can't get to the phone right now, so please leave a message at the beep. I'll get back to you as soon as I can," her voice chirped. Nancy groaned at the message. She really wanted to talk to Amy, but it looked like she would have to wait a while.  
At the beep Nancy said, "Hi, Amy. This is Nancy Drew. Listen, I have something I really need to talk to you about, so if you would, please give me a call as soon as you get this message." Nancy rattled off both her cell phone number and the hotel's number before hanging up.  
Turning to Frank she said, "I really hope she calls back soon. I can't stand waiting around like this."  
Frank grinned at her, about to say something, then grimaced in pain.  
"Frank?" Nancy asked in concern. She stepped closer to the bed and looked down at the expression on his face. "What's wrong?"  
"Could you get me some more aspirin, please? My headache just came back with a vengeance," he begged.  
"Sure." Nancy went into the bathroom and came back out with a bottle of pills and a glass of water. She sat on the other side of the bed and handed them to Frank. "Here, take these," she said offering him two white pills.  
He gratefully accepted the medicine and quickly downed the drugs with the water. "Thanks," he said.  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Nancy asked as she sat the empty glass on the night stand. "Maybe you should stay here and let me go to pick up Joe tonight."  
"I'll be fine as soon as the aspirin kicks in, and I get a few hours of rest," Frank replied.  
She yawned and then stretched out on the bed next to him. "Maybe a nap is what we both need."  
Frank rolled over and threw his arm around Nancy's waist. He placed a soft kiss on her lips and said, "Sounds good to me."  
Nancy sighed in contentment as she turned on her side to face him. She returned Frank's kiss with one of her own.  
As they kissed again Frank thought, 'We can nap later.' He moved his lips from hers down to her neck. He trailed soft kisses from her jaw to her collarbone and back. His hand drew circles on her back as he pulled her closer to him.  
"I thought you wanted to take a nap," Nancy protested softly.  
"I changed my mind," Frank answered, placing more delicate kisses on her neck. He stopped momentarily to glance up at Nancy. "You don't mind, do you?"  
She smiled down at the seductive look on Frank's face. "What about your headache?" she asked.  
Frank grinned back as he pushed a stray hair away from Nancy's forehead. He peppered light kisses across her face as he said, "Studies have shown that this is the best cure for a headache.  
"Is that so?" Nancy replied breathlessly.  
"Mmm hmm," Frank murmured as he captured her lips once more.  
During the kiss she managed to flip them over so that she lay on top of Frank. "Well, I do want you to get better," she said saucily.  
"So do I," Frank whispered, pulling her down towards him for another passionate kiss. 


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: Okay guys, this is a little teaser for right now. I'm about to head out of town for a week, so hopefully this will incite some interest for more while I'm gone. I have a few more chapters that are written but they need to be edited. I will have computer access while I'm away, but I can't promise how much will get written and posted. Enjoy this little tidbit for now and keep the reviews coming, please. :)  
  
The shrill ring of the hotel phone woke Nancy from her peaceful slumber three hours later. She squinted at the alarm clock in the afternoon darkness and saw that it was already 5:30. At the sound of the ringing phone, Frank snuggled closer to Nancy as she sleepily reached for the receiver.  
"Hello?" she said, trying to clear the cobwebs from her mind.  
"Nancy?" a female voice responded on the other end.  
"This is she."  
"Nancy, it's Amy Durham. I just got your message."  
At the sound of Amy's name, Nancy was instantly awake. "Thanks for calling me back," she said.  
"What did you need to talk to me about?" Amy asked.  
"Have you talked to Ned yet?" Nancy asked quietly. Frank was still sleeping peacefully and she didn't want to wake him.  
"I just left the hospital, actually," Amy admitted. "He told me that you came by this morning."  
"Did he tell you who it was that shot him?"  
She could hear the young woman sigh deeply on the other end of the line. "He said it was Paul. I just can't believe that Paul would do something like this. It's not like him at all!"  
"Did Ned tell you anything else?" Nancy probed.  
"Kind of. He said that he thinks Paul is up to something, and this was Paul's way of keeping him quiet," Amy explained. "I'm so frustrated that he won't give me any details, but he says the less I know, the better."  
"He's right," Nancy agreed. "It's for your own good, Amy. Trust me."  
Amy groaned. "I want to know what's going on. Paul is more like my friend than my boss. If Paul really is behind all this, I certainly can't work for him," she whined.  
"Well if things work out the way I want them too, he won't be working for Alliance much longer. This is where you come in, Amy. Frank and I need a favor," Nancy told the girl.  
"Whatever you need, I'll do it. The sooner this is over with, the better," came Amy's immediate reply.  
"We need access to Paul's office to dig up some more information that Ned told us about. Can you help us do that?" Nancy asked.  
Amy replied, "Yeah, sure. Whatever you need. When do you want to get into the office?"  
"What time does Paul usually arrive in the morning?" Nancy queried.  
"About 8:30. He usually comes in about a half an hour after I do. Are you sure you want to chance it tomorrow? I can get us into the building now if you want," she offered.  
Nancy glanced over at Frank's sleeping form. She desperately wanted to get in and get the information, but knew that he would kill her for not telling him. 'He'll get over it,' she thought as she told Amy, "Where do you want me to meet you?"  
  
Frank woke to the resounding sound of the alarm clock. He rolled over to shut off the offending sound and noticed that he was alone in the darkened hotel room. "Nan?" Frank called out to the empty room.  
Getting no response Frank looked around the room and muttered to himself, "What in the hell?" He noted the time on the clock read 6:15. He and Nancy had a little over an hour before they had to be at O'Hare to pick up Joe. Where in the world was she?  
Once he turned on the bedside lamp and pushed the covers off of himself, Frank noticed a piece of paper laying atop Nancy's pillow. He grabbed the paper and read:  
  
Frank -  
Don't get upset, but I'm meeting up with Amy. She's letting me in to Paul's office, so I can check his computer. I thought it would be better to do it tonight than risk getting caught tomorrow. You needed your sleep, so I didn't want to wake you. I took a cab so you could have the car to pick up Joe. The keys are on the desk. I'll meet you guys back at the hotel as soon as I'm done. See you soon.  
- Nan  
  
"Damn!" Frank cursed, balling up the sheet of paper in his fist. Getting to his feet, he padded barefoot across the room and grabbed his cell phone. Quickly punching in her cell phone number, he let out a frustrated groan when it went to voice mail. He was going to kill her for taking off without him.  
Grumbling to himself, Frank went through the motions of getting dressed and ready to go pick up his brother. As he grabbed the keys from the desk, he found a small slip of paper that had Amy's number written on it. He smiled to himself as he grabbed both items and shoved them in his jacket pocket. At least he had an alternate way of getting a hold of her, in case she kept her cell phone turned off.  
As he walked out the hotel room, Frank said a silent prayer that Nancy would get in and get out of the office without anything happening, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that everything was not going to go according to plan. 


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: Okay guys - I'm back from a semi-relaxing vacation. Two more days until I have to go back to work. Hope you all didn't forget about my story! I'm going to try to get 2 parts out today, to make up for being gone for a week. Please continue to review! I want to know what you guys think of the developments :) And on with the story...  
  
Nancy paid the cab driver and stepped up to the entrance of the Alliance building. She saw Amy waiting for her on the steps. She rushed up to the young woman and said sincerely, "Thanks for meeting me."  
Amy stuffed her hands deep into her heavy coat. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "No problem. Nancy," she continued, "I'll do whatever it is you need me to do. I just want to get Paul if he did hurt Ned."  
Nancy's breath was visible in the cold evening air as she responded. "I know," she answered quietly. "I do, too."  
"I know you guys were together for a long time," Amy began. "And if you wanted to work things out with him, I.... I wouldn't blame you. I'd remove myself from the situation."  
Nancy looked sympathetically at the young girl in front of her. She really did care for Ned, but she was gracious enough of a person to allow Nancy and Ned the opportunity to work things out. Simply amazing. "It's okay," Nancy reassured her. "Ned and I had a heart to heart and well, we're not going to try. It's really for the best. He cares about you and I have someone I've known just as long as Ned that I care for a lot, too."  
"Are you sure?" Amy questioned.  
"Positive. He really is a good guy, Amy - despite everything that's happened. I hope things work out for you two," Nancy said graciously.  
Amy smile tentatively and said, "Thank you."  
Nancy smiled back and motioned to the front doors of the building. "C'mon. We've got a mystery to solve."  
Hurriedly, the two young women marched up the front steps and into the towering office building. Neither noticed a lone figure standing across the street watching the exchange.  
  
Amy opened up the door to the outer office and turned on the lights. Nancy's eyes swept across the ordinary looking office. She had never been in this particular one before, but it looked just like Ned's office did, only a little larger. Simple light blue colored walls, paired with cream colored carpet. A small desk with a computer, phone, and fax machine sat in the middle of the room. There were two doors besides the one they had just entered through. One was situated right behind the desk and the other was on the right hand side of the room.  
Amy sat her purse on her desk and pointed to the door off to the right of the small room. "His office is in there," she pointed.  
Nancy nodded and walked towards the door. When she reached the doorway, she paused with her hand on the doorknob. "I shouldn't be long," she stated. "Keep an eye out and yell if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary," she instructed.  
Amy nodded and bit her lip nervously. "Good luck," she told Nancy.  
Nancy gave Amy a grim smile and quickly walked into the office. She located the light switch and the over head lights whirred to life. Paul's office was about twice the size as the outer office where Amy spent her day. Same color scheme, but unlike the front space, this one was decorated with several of Paul's personal possessions. Photos lined the shelves of the bookcases and Nancy paused to look at the snapshots. Paul and his new sports car. Paul and someone Nancy assumed to be his brother Gerry on a boat in the middle of the lake. It was obvious that Paul had money. It was up to Nancy to uncover where he was getting it from.  
Making her way around Paul's desk Nancy pulled out several blank cds she had purchased on her way to meet Amy. She powered on the computer and sat in the plush office chair and waited impatiently for the computer to come to life.  
Frank might have been the resident expert, but Nancy was no slouch herself. As soon as the terminal was up and running Nancy began searching the titles of documents saved to the hard drive. She pulled up several files and then quickly closed them once she realized they didn't have the information she was looking for. Sighing Nancy realized she wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to find. 'Not likely to be titled 'Embezzlement' she thought to herself wryly.  
Nancy exited the application she was currently engrossed in and decided to do a file search by name. She typed in the word Claims and was rewarded with several books of Excel files. Deciding it would be in her best interest to take everything with her to decipher later, she loaded the first cd into the tray and began copying the information.  
As the computer began buzzing with the familiar sounds of writing a cd Nancy heard what sounded like a faint thump outside the closed door. She jumped to her feet and cautiously made her way to the door. She paused and listened for any sounds coming from the front office. Before she could open the door and call out to Amy, the door flew open and Nancy was knocked to the ground full force.  
  
"Excuse me," Frank said, as he pushed past travelers exiting the arrival terminal. There had been a major pile up on the way to the airport, and Frank had sat at a standstill on the road for almost an hour until traffic had let up. 'This is the one time I want a flight to be late,' he thought as she made his way through the throngs of people.  
"United Flight 456 from LaGuardia is now arriving at Gate C29," announced the voice over the loudspeaker.  
Frank heard the message as he sprinted through the lobby of O'Hare International Airport. He made his way to the security checkpoint and sighed as when saw the line was interminably long. He picked what seemed to be the shortest line and began waiting impatiently. He was in a foul mood and having to wait, only made his mood worse.  
Frank pulled out his cell phone and tried to call Nancy once again. This would be the fifth time that he tried to reach her since finding her note earlier. He hoped he would get through to her this time. If she didn't answer, he was going to call Amy. He thought that surely, between the two of them one of the women must have their phone turned on. Frank groaned as his call once again went to voice mail. "What's the point of having one if you're not going to turn the damn thing on!" he muttered to himself as he stared at the phone, willing it to ring.  
He reached into his leather jacket and found the scrap of paper with Amy's phone number. As he slowly shuffled forward in line he dialed Amy's number and crossed his fingers. After four rings her phone also directed him to a voice mailbox. 'This can't be good,' he thought as he heard Amy's outgoing message playing.  
"Amy, this is Frank," he spoke into the phone. "I know Nancy went with you to Alliance. I can't get a hold of her and I'm worried about you two. Please, call me as soon as you get this message." Frank left his number and then slammed his cell phone shut. Why couldn't she have just waited until the morning? 


	20. Chapter 20

Paul's large frame towered over her menacingly as she struggled to stand up. "Well what do we have here?" he leered.  
"You're not going to get away with this," Nancy informed him, as she got to her feet.  
Paul laughed evilly, "We'll see about that." He grabbed Nancy's upper arm and dragged her out of his office. Nancy gasped as she saw Amy slumped over her desk. A trickle of blood ran down the side of her head.  
"You bastard," Nancy spat at Paul as he hauled her across the small room. The young woman didn't deserve being attacked and Nancy was enraged that it had happened.  
Nancy assessed the situation in her head. She glanced furtively around the room for anything that would serve as either a weapon or a distraction. She couldn't risk being taken from the building. She knew her chances of getting away were better now than if Paul took her to some remote location.  
Her eyes darted from object to object, but nothing was in reach. Paul's grip on her arm was too strong and he towered above her by a good 6 inches. He had a rather large build and Nancy knew that she couldn't overpower him without some sort of weapon.  
Nancy took a deep breath and called upon one trick that had worked for her in situations past. She closed her eyes and let her entire body go limp. She attempted to fall unceremoniously to the floor, as if fainting. Paul's grip on her arm slackened predictably when he felt her become dead weight. Before she could put her plan into action Amy's cell phone began to ring loudly.  
Surprised and startled at the noise, Paul let go of Nancy's arm. Nancy hit the ground once again, but this time she was prepared for battle. As soon as she felt him standing over her, Nancy's eyes snapped open and she delivered a swift strike with both feet to Paul's mid-section. He let out a loud, "Oof," and fell backwards against the desk.  
Luck was on Nancy's side for when Paul fell back, he smacked his head on the corner of the desk. She watched his eyes shut and his body fall to the floor. She stood at a standstill until she was sure that Paul was really unconscious. When she determined that it was safe, Nancy leapt to her feet. She exhaled a breath she didn't know she had been holding and went to check on Amy.  
  
"Frank!" Blonde haired and blue eyed, Joe Hardy called out as he stepped into the main concourse. He could see his brother about a hundred feet away, his tall build looking around anxiously for him.  
"Joe!" Frank yelled back, dodging through the throngs of people to greet his brother. He embraced him in a quick hug, asking at the same time, "Luggage?"  
"Nope," the younger Hardy answered. He patted the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "Anything I forgot, you can buy me," he laughed.  
Frank shook his head, at his brother's attempted humor, but didn't respond.  
At the lack of a stinging retort from Frank, Joe glanced at his brother as they walked towards the parking garage. "Spill it, Frank. What's eating you? And where's Nan?"  
Frank sighed and he ran a hand through his dark hair. "That's the problem. She took off while I was asleep to go dig up some more information on our suspect." He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket once more and looked at it with disgust. "She's not answering her cell phone and neither is the girl she went with."  
Joe's eyes went round as he heard Frank's explanation for Nancy's disappearance. "She took off without telling you?"  
"You know Nan," Frank began. "She knew if she woke me up, I wouldn't go for it. So, she left me a note instead."  
Joe laughed slightly at the situation. "Well, I guess some things never change."  
Frank glared at his younger brother as he directed him towards Nancy's car. "I swear to God, Joe, if she's okay and just forgot to turn her cell phone on, I'm gonna ring her neck when I find her."  
As Frank popped the trunk and Joe stuffed his bag inside, Joe smiled at Frank. "You really care about her a lot don't you?"  
Biting his lip, Frank admitted, "Yeah, I do. And as soon as this whole mess is over with, I'm going to let her know just how much." He slammed the trunk and then opened up the driver's side door. He looked at Joe over the top of the car and said, "Now, let's go find her."  
  
"Amy," Nancy called out as she pressed two fingers to the side of Amy's neck to check for a pulse. Relieved when she found one, Nancy gently shook the girl's shoulders to rouse her.  
The young woman groggily awoke a few seconds later and raised her head. She looked around the room in confusion. "What happened?" she asked.  
"No time to explain," Nancy insisted. "We've got to get out of here." She helped Amy to her feet, and then quickly ran into Paul's office to grab her belongings. The two women then made their way across Paul's unconscious body and out into the hallway.  
"Are you okay?" Nancy asked, as they hurried down the hall.  
"My head is killing me," she admitted. "But, I'll make it."  
As they ran towards the elevator, Nancy pulled her cell phone from her purse. She groaned when she realized that she had left it turned off. She knew she would have tons of messages from Frank, who was undoubtedly worried about her. "Amy," Nancy told the girl, "I need you to call the 9-1- 1. I'll call Frank and let him know what's going on." She quickly punched in Frank's number and waited for him to pick up the phone.  
Amy nodded in response, but all of the sudden motions suddenly became too much for her to take. Nancy watched in horror as the girl slid to the ground.  
"Dammit!" Nancy cursed. This situation was going from bad to worse. She had to get the two of them out of the building before Paul awoke. As she bent down to check on Amy once more, she heard Frank's voice.  
"Where are you?" he demanded.  
"Alliance building with Amy," she said, out of breath. "Paul found us and attacked Amy. I knocked him out, and Amy and I escaped out of the office, but she just passed out on me again," Nancy explained.  
"Are you okay?" Frank asked worriedly, concern evident in his voice.  
"I'm fine," she insisted. Before she could continue, Nancy heard a noise coming from the far end of the hall. She looked down the hallway and saw Paul staggering out of the door. "Call 9-1-1," she whispered into the phone.  
"Nancy? What's going on?" Frank questioned.  
"Just do it!" Nancy demanded.  
Gaining his balance, Paul stepped out in the hallway and looked dead at Nancy. "I'm going to kill you!" he exclaimed, as he rushed towards the girls.  
That was the last thing that Frank heard before the line went dead. 


	21. Chapter 21

"Damnit!" Frank cursed. He slammed the steering wheel with his palm and tossed his brother the cell phone. "Call 9-1-1," he instructed Joe. "Have them go to the Alliance building."  
Joe nodded mutely at his brother's instructions. He quickly informed the operator that two women were being attacked.. The dispatcher let him know that patrol cars were en route. She also told him that if he were to receive any more information on the situation, that he should call back immediately.  
"She's going to be fine," Joe simply said. His brother's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, weaving in and out of Chicago traffic.  
Frank glanced sideways at his brother. "I hope you're right."  
"This is Nancy we're talking about," Joe reassured his brother. "She always comes out of these situations unscathed."  
"That's because one of us is usually right behind her!" Frank snapped. He took a deep breath and then said, "I'm sorry."  
Joe waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. So, get me up to date on the situation," he said.  
"Well the guy that shot Ned is Paul, his boss," Frank began. "Apparently Paul started flaunting a lot of money around and it made Ned suspicious. He began hanging out with Paul's secretary so he could closer to Paul. He thought he was embezzling funds from the company, and he was right.  
"Talk about workman's comp," Joe laughed, attempting to lighten the situation.  
Frank let out a small chuckle at Joe's twisted logic. "You could look at it that way, I guess. Anyway, Paul overheard Amy and Ned talking one night, and Paul figured out that Ned was on to him. He went over to the apartment after Nancy and I left and they got into it. Paul shot Ned and then took off. Ned was smart enough to copy cd's of Paul's bank account that he found on Paul's computer. But, he didn't get a chance to copy the information that proved Paul and his brother, Gerry, actually were embezzling from the company."  
Joe whistled as he digested the information. "So, Nancy is at the office right now, trying to find the information that Ned didn't get," he surmised.  
"Yeah," Frank said tersely. "I guess Paul found Amy and Nancy and attacked Amy. Nan somehow managed to knock him out. But, I guess he wasn't out for long. The last thing I heard was Paul say 'I'm going to kill you'."  
"Frank, Nancy is going to be fine," Joe insisted.  
  
When Nancy saw Paul rushing towards them, she did the first thing she could think of. She hurled her cell phone as hard as she could towards him and it connected solidly with his chin. Nancy turned and ran towards the blinking exit sign as fast as she could. She hated leaving Amy, but she had to get help before they were both killed.  
Slamming the stairwell door open Nancy bounded down the stairs two at a time. The sign on the side of the wall reminded her that she had 26 more floors to go before she could get to the main lobby. Nancy groaned as she descended down the stairwell. Options flashed through her mind. Did she run all the way to the main floor or did she take the chance and stop a few floors down and try the elevator?  
As she arrived at the landing on the 24th floor, Nancy heard the door slam open once more. Paul's voice echoed through the concrete structure. "You can run, but you can't hide," he threatened.  
His menacing threats fueled Nancy to run even faster. Satisfied that she had a large enough head start, she yanked open the door on the next floor and darted down the hallway. She knew the elevators were in the middle of the hall and if the elevator didn't arrive soon enough, she would just run to other staircase.  
Nancy's heart pounded in her chest as the frantically pushed the down button next to the elevator. Praying that Frank had called 9-1-1 and that police would be storming the building any moment, Nancy glanced up at the numbers above the doors. The elevator was coming up from the lobby and it seemed to be taking forever. The numbers slowly illuminated but they weren't lighting up fast enough for Nancy. "Come on!" Nancy yelled impatiently. 15 then 16 lit up when Nancy heard the door at the end of the hallway fling open.  
She took one last look at Paul's enraged face before she sprinted in the opposite direction. Nancy bounded down the stairs once more and was breathing hard by the time she had gone down another four flights of stairs. She decided to chance the elevator once more. Knowing it wouldn't have to go so far this time, she raced out the stairwell and back towards the elevator.  
  
By the time Frank came to a screeching halt in front of the Alliance building, several police cars with flashing red and blue lights were sitting out front. Frank quickly threw the car in gear and jumped out, with Joe following close behind.  
As the duo bounded up the steps, they were blocked by an older officer. "The building is closed gentleman," he said authoritatively.  
Frank and Joe immediately both reached in their back pockets for their identifications. "Frank Hardy, NYPD and Joe Hardy, FBI," Frank announced.  
The officer looked questioningly at the harried looking young men in front of him. His eyebrows raised he asked, "And why does this concern the NYPD and the FBI? This was a dispatched 9-1-1 call to Chicago PD."  
"We're the ones that made the call," Joe explained patiently. He looked over at his brother who was fuming. He knew that Frank would blow up if they didn't find anything out about Nancy soon. "One of the people being attacked in there, is his girlfriend." He pointed to Frank and he nodded in agreement.  
"Look, Sergeant Thomas," Frank said as he zeroed in on the officer's name plate. "We'll let CPD do their thing. I just want in there to check on Nancy," he promised.  
The older gentleman sighed as he allowed them entry. "Fine. Just remember who's jurisdiction this is and we'll all get along," he said, pointing to Joe.  
"Thank you," Joe and Frank said at the same time as they rushed inside the building.  
The lobby was a flurry of activity. As they made their way to the reception desk to speak to the officer standing there, the in house security phone rang. A quiet hush fell over the lobby as the officer answered the phone. 


	22. Chapter 22

Okay - you guys have been awful quiet with the comments here lately. Let me if it's good, bad, birdcage liner, whatever! :) I'm kind of at a crossroads right now in deciding where I should go with this plot line... Should I end it in a couple of chapters or keep it going? Let me know what you all think!  
  
Nancy was gasping for air as she pressed the down button once more. She sighed with relief when it quickly descended the four levels and the familiar dinging sound of the open doors was heard. She quickly entered the elevator and pressed the door close button. Nancy picked up the emergency red phone as she pressed the ground floor button.  
"Security," came the older male voice over the line.  
"Thank god!" Nancy exclaimed. "9-1-1 should've already been contacted. My friend and I were attacked on the 27th floor. She's unconscious and bleeding. She needs help."  
"This is Lieutenant Lou Douglas, ma'am. I'll send some guys up to your friend. Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine," Nancy insisted. "Amy is the one that needs help. Paul Wheeler is the man that attacked us. He chased me down the stairs to the 20th floor. He's probably on his way down the stairs now."  
"Is he armed?" Officer Douglas asked.  
"No, not armed that I saw. But, he is wanted for questioning in the shooting of a friend of mine," Nancy informed the officer.  
"Thanks for the warning," the officer replied kindly. Nancy could hear him bark orders to the others in the background. "Hopefully we'll intercept him between here and there."  
"Hold on just a second, ma'am," Lou said.  
Nancy heard other male voices and she swore on of them was Frank's. She was proven correct as Frank's voice came over the line. "Nan," he said anxiously. "Are you okay?"  
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied soothingly. "As soon as the elevator makes it to the lobby you can see for yourself."  
"Thank god," he sighed into the phone. "How's Amy?"  
"Not good," Nancy admitted. "She unconscious. I didn't want to leave her, but I had to go for help."  
"I know, Nan," Frank replied.  
"Frank, the elevator just stopped at the lobby. I'm hanging up now," Nancy told him.  
Frank replaced the receiver back on it's cradle and rushed towards the opening elevator doors. Joe stared after his brother and shook his head in amazement as he watched him envelop Nancy in a crushing hug as soon as she stepped out into the lobby.  
Her face pressed against Frank's chest, Nancy inhaled his scent and savored the feeling of his strong arms. After a moment, she pulled back and let him look over her. "See? I'm fine."  
Frank pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Thank goodness for small miracles," he smiled. He quickly sobered at the thought of what could have happened to her. "Nan, I don't know what I would've done if anything had happened to you."  
Adrenaline coursed through Nancy's veins from both the chase and Frank's statement. "Well, you won't have to find out," she replied, breaking the spell as she saw Joe waving at her over Frank's shoulder.  
"Pretty risky move you pulled there, Drew," Joe teased, as he sauntered over to the pair.  
"Nothing you wouldn't have done, Hardy," Nancy laughed lightly as she hugged Joe hello.  
"Excuse me, miss," a young female officer interrupted. "We do need to get a statement from you."  
"Of course," Nancy nodded. She squeezed Frank's hand and turned to him and asked. "Check on Amy for me, will you?"  
"Will do," Frank nodded. He watched Nancy walk to the other side of the lobby with the officer and shook his head to erase the morbid thoughts that had been plaguing him since her earlier phone call.  
Joe lightly punched his brother on the arm. "Told you she'd be okay," he said smugly.  
Frank glared at his younger sibling and motioned towards a group of police officers. "Go flash your badge and see if you can find out what's going on."  
"Where are you going?" Joe eyed his brother suspiciously.  
Frank eyes shifted as he avoided his brother's gaze. "Just do it, Joe."  
"Frank, let the Chicago PD do their job. Don't get in the middle of this." Joe warned him.  
"Don't worry about me," Frank told his brother, as he patted his sidearm. "I'm going to go track this bastard down. He's attacked four of us now, and I'm not going to let him get to anyone else."  
"I'm not the one that's going to be worried about you," Joe reminded him. He pointed over to Nancy was being interviewed by two policemen. "She'll yell at me first and then be worried about you."  
"You're a big boy, you can handle a little of Nancy's wrath," Frank said pointedly. "It's not like it would be the first time."  
"Frank, don't do this," Joe pleaded as he ran a hand over his worried face.  
"Too late, my mind's made up," Frank replied. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at Joe. "Call me if anything happens."  
"Fine," Joe sighed. He knew it was pointless to argue with Frank when he had his mind set on something. He just hoped that if Frank got to Paul before the Chicago police did, he wouldn't do anything stupid. As he watched his brother walk away, he ignored the nagging feeling that told him that this wasn't a good idea. 


	23. Chapter 23

Frank quickly made his way across the lobby and towards the sign that pointed to the garage. He had a gut feeling that somehow Paul had escaped the police and would be heading this way as means of escaping. But Frank wasn't going to allow that to happen.  
There were only a handful of cars in the parking garage. It was going to make his job a lot easier. Frank took note of the stairwell entrance that ran through the middle of the level. He cautiously made his way towards the entrance and slowly opened the door. He heard footsteps on the stairs that sounded as if they were only a few floors away. Frank shut the door just as quietly and assumed a position next to the door. He planned to attack Paul as soon as he stepped foot into the garage.  
Frank withdrew his sidearm from the holster and gripped it in his right hand. His fingers coiled around the piece and he slowly released a breath. This guy had taken him down once, he wasn't about to let it happen again. Frank's ear perked as he heard the echoing of the footsteps that were growing closer. He steeled himself for the battle to come.  
Suddenly, the door flew open and Paul stepped out into the garage. "Freeze!" Frank yelled as he pointed the gun at Paul's back.  
  
"Excuse me," Joe said as he walked up to an attractive female police detective. He grinned his famous smile and reached into his pocket and fished out his identification. "Joe Hardy, FBI. Also a friend of one of the victims. Could you give me any information on the injured girl upstairs?"  
The tall and leggy brunette looked Joe up and down. She offered her hand to Joe as her eyes came to rest back on his handsome face. "Detective Sarah Kinnan. Nice to meet you Mr. Hardy." She sighed as she related the information to Joe. "The EMT's are treating her head wound as blunt trauma. She hasn't yet regained consciousness. They're preparing to transport her to St. Joseph's."  
Joe ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Thanks for the information, detective."  
"I thought this was a CPD matter, when did the FBI get a phone call?" Sarah asked curiously.  
"It's not an FBI matter, not yet anyway. One of the victims," Joe pointed across the lobby to Nancy, who was still giving her statement, "is an old friend of mine. She called my brother, her boyfriend, when she was being attacked. We made the 9-1-1 call and got here as soon as we could. Your guys were nice enough to let us come in and wait for information."  
Sarah opened her mouth to say something, when her radio crackled to life. "Detective Kinnan?"  
"Excuse me," Sarah told Joe as she put the walkie-talkie up to her mouth. "Go ahead, Johnson."  
"Detective, we've searched all of the hallways and the stairwells from 20 on down. There's no sign of the perp," the voice on the radio said.  
"Dammit," the detective replied. "Okay, Johnson. Take your men and work up the next 10 flights. We knew he was on his way down when we got here, maybe he decided to take a detour. I'll send someone up to the roof, to block that exit. The other perimeters are being covered."  
"10-4 Detective," officer Johnson replied.  
"Keep me informed, Johnson," Sarah warned. "Kinnan, over and out." She snapped the radio back into it's place on her waistband. She pulled a business card out of her suit jacket and handed it to Joe. "Sorry to cut this short. Call me if there is anything else I can help you with," Sarah said, almost flirtatiously.  
Joe grinned back at the detective as he accepted the card. Old habits died hard, and Joe found himself flirting back. "Count on it. Nice meeting you detective." he said.  
"You too, Mr. Hardy," she smiled over her shoulder as she walked towards another officer by the elevators.  
Joe glanced briefly at the card in his hand before stuffing it in his pants pocket. The flirting was harmless, he reasoned to himself. He wasn't cheating on Vanessa. If anything, making friends with the detective could possibly help them out later down the line. His introspection was broken by Nancy's voice from behind him.  
"Joe," she questioned.  
"Where's Frank?"  
Joe turned around and attempted to look as innocent as possible. He shrugged his shoulders and replied with a straight face. "Bathroom?"  
"Joe Hardy, don't lie to me!" Nancy exclaimed in frustration. She knew that Joe was covering up for his brother. "Where is he?"  
Joe sighed and said, "I told him that you'd yell at me."  
Nancy looked confused at Joe's comment. "He went looking for Paul, Nan," he informed her.  
"He what?" Nancy practically yelled. "And you let him?"  
"You two are just alike, you know that?" Joe responded. "Neither of you wants the other one to be worried when you take off to do something rash, and you both end up leaving me in the middle to referee!"  
Nancy's face turned red at Joe's comment. As calmly as she could muster, she grabbed the lapels of Joe's coat and pulled him towards her. "Tell me which way he went," she demanded.  
Joe's eyes bulged in shock. He had never seen Nancy like this at all. "He went that way," Joe squeaked as he pointed to a door in the corner of the lobby.  
Nancy quickly released Joe and took off running across the lobby, Joe following right behind her. Her eyes went wide as she realized she was heading towards the garage. 'Please, not again,' Nancy prayed silently as she ran. 


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note: Thanks for the encouraging reviews, people. I really just wanted to get a good take on whether or not you all were getting bored with the story. Don't worry, it won't be over soon. My mind still has a couple of evil plot twists left that need to be put to paper. But, it's not going to drag on forever. For those of you that commented about the short chapters - sorry bout that. I've got 60 pages, single line spaced saved to my hard drive. That's about 3 pages per chapter, roughly. I'll try to make the next few chapters after these longer, but I'm not making any promises. :) You'll get two chapters tonight - I've got one in reserve that I'm holding off on until I can get more written. Once again, don't hold back your comments - I thrive on feedback. It fuels the muse. Enjoy the story!  
  
Paul lifted both of his arms in the air and then slowly turned towards Frank. When he realized who it was that was holding him up, he grinned. "Payback, huh?"  
"Shut the hell up, and get down on the ground," Frank commanded, advancing closer to Paul.  
"Not a chance," Paul spat. "I only warned you the first time, this go round you're not going to be so lucky."  
"I don't think so," Frank said, cocking his pistol for emphasis. "You're in no position to do anything about it, this time."  
"You're not taking me down," Paul taunted, as he lunged for Frank.  
Frank fired as he saw Paul advancing towards him. The gun made a deafening retort as the bullet was released from it's chamber. Frank aimed for his shoulder, only wanting to subdue the man, not kill him. The bullet penetrated Paul's shoulder and he gripped it in pain, but still advanced towards Frank.  
"Frank!" Nancy cried as she opened the door to the garage. She had heard the gunshot and was prepared for the worst.  
The momentary distraction was all Paul needed to tackle Frank. The two men battled for control of the gun on the concrete floor. Nancy and Joe rushed toward the fighting men, but before they could help, Paul had emerged from the fight with the pistol.  
He slowly staggered to his feet and pointed the gun at Frank. He backed off to the side and then swung around to face Nancy and Joe. He looked at them directly and with the gun still trained on Frank he said, "One more move, and he dies."  
Frank looked up to see Nancy and Joe standing a few feet away. His eyes silently implored his brother and Nancy to listen to the crazed man.  
"You!" He commanded, pointing to Nancy with his injured arm. "Come here!"  
Nancy shook her head vehemently at Paul's words. Her eyes locked once more with Franks and she stood frozen in place.  
"I said, come here!" Paul screamed. He shook the gun at Frank, "Do you want lover boy to die?"  
"Don't!" Nancy pleaded. Her heart beating a mile a minute, she took a few cautious steps towards Paul. She would risk being taken hostage to spare Frank's life.  
As the brothers watched in horror, Nancy walked closer to Paul. Joe nodded to Frank and imperceptibly patted his waist. He was letting his brother know that he had was carrying his firearm. As Joe assessed the situation he knew it wasn't the right time to draw on Paul. He didn't want to take the risk of Nancy or his brother getting shot in the process. Even though the situation was incredibly tense at the moment, Joe knew that he had to wait for a better opening in order to take Paul down.  
"Good girl," Paul sneered as Nancy stepped in front of him. He jerked her arm and pulled her against him. He roughly turned her around and wrapped his arm tight around her neck. With the injured arm, he pointed the pistol at her temple. "She's going with me, boys."  
Frank decided to attempt reasoning with Paul. "Don't do this, Wheeler," he pleaded. "You're already in deep enough, as it is. Do you want to add kidnapping to the growing list of charges?"  
Paul threw back his head and laughed. "My take on that is, what is one more charge gonna hurt?" He abruptly sobered up and pressed the gun harder against Nancy's head. "You're not taking me down, and my pretty little hostage here is going to ensure that." Paul shoved Nancy and pushed her across the garage.  
Nancy twisted her head to look back at the brothers. She watched as Joe once again patted his waist. She almost sighed as she realized what that meant. Nancy just hoped that Joe would be able to get a clean shot at Paul before he drove away with her.  
He pulled out his car keys and thrust them in Nancy's hands. "Get in! You're driving!" He directed Nancy to the passenger side, so that he could keep the gun trained on her as she slid across the seat.  
Nancy's hands shook involuntarily as she attempted to unlock the car. She nervously looked up at Frank and offered a tense smile of reassurance. Paul witnessed the exchange and backhanded Nancy across the face. "I said get in the car!" he screamed.  
Frank started to rush towards the scene when Joe restrained him. He saw the veins bulging with rage in Frank's forehead and neck. "I've got it covered," he whispered forcefully. "Don't get her killed before I can take him down."  
Nancy's head cheek throbbed with the blow she had just received. She opened the car door and quickly jumped inside. She made her way across the leather seat of the shiny red corvette while Paul kept the gun firmly aimed at her. Paul sat down beside her and slammed the door. "Drive!" he commanded.  
Nancy, who had been silently complacent until that point, muttered a sarcastic, "Where to?"as she turned the ignition.  
"Wherever the hell I tell you to!" Paul thundered.  
As Nancy put the car in drive, she looked over at Paul. The blood was still streaming from his shoulder wound, and he held the injured arm gingerly, blood seeping through his fingers.  
Pulling out of the parking space, Nancy passed Frank and Joe as she maneuvered through the practically empty garage towards the exit. In her rearview mirror she noticed Joe remove his pistol from it's holster. Nancy quickly weighed her options. She knew that Joe would plan to shoot out the tires and render the vehicle useless. Did she take the chance that Paul would shoot on reflex, or did she jump out of the car before that could happen? Another glance at Paul, and Nancy noticed that his attention was now on his injured shoulder. The gun was still pointed in her direction, but there wasn't the concentrated aim that there had been moments before.  
As she neared the exit, Nancy glanced back up at the rearview mirror and saw Joe aiming at the vehicle. As he lowered the gun to shoot out the tires, Nancy took a deep breath and flung open the door. Simultaneously, Joe fired at the Corvette and Nancy propelled herself out of the car and onto the cold concrete floor.  
Before Paul realized what had happened, the car lost control and careened towards the security gate. The Corvette slammed through the control arm that blocked the exit and slid out into the streets of Chicago. 


	25. Chapter 25

"I'll take Paul, you check on Nan," Joe ordered and took off running towards the street.  
Frank rushed towards and knelt down next to her, while she attempted to sit up. "You okay?" he asked worriedly.  
"I'm fine," Nancy promised him. "I'll be sore as hell tomorrow, though. The floor is harder than it looks," she managed to joke.  
Frank offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. He pulled her in a warm embrace and whispered, "You scared me."  
"You scared me, too," Nancy replied. She pulled back from his embrace and smacked him solidly on the arm. "That's for taking off after the nut job yourself."  
"Hello, Pot, this is the Kettle calling," Frank snorted. "Need I remind you that because you took off by yourself, is how we ended up in this position?"  
Nancy sighed. "Point taken," she acquiesced. "The silver lining to this whole night is that we're both okay."  
Just then a few of Chicago's finest burst through the doors that led from the lobby. "You're late," Nancy dead panned as the police hurried towards the couple.  
"What happened?" Detective Kinnan asked. She motioned for the two officers behind her to survey the scene at the garage entrance.  
Frank and Nancy quickly filled the Detective in on what had transpired moments earlier.  
The detective sighed as she listened the story. When the two were done explaining themselves she fixed a steely glaze on Frank. "I could call your supervisor and take your badge for what you did tonight. It was foolish and plain dangerous going after the suspect without backup. Especially since you were aware of his violent history."  
Frank clenched his jaw as he received the reprimand. "I know. I'm sorry," he said forced himself to say.  
"But the suspect was subdued by us after he evaded your men," Nancy said, defending Frank's actions, although not approving of them, either.  
"I didn't say I was reporting him," Sarah Kinnan answered. "I said I could."  
"Thank you, ma'am," Frank replied, sincerely. He knew his decision had been a rash and emotional one, but he felt at the time like he had no choice.  
"We're going to need another statement from you two," Detective Kinnan told them. She picked up her walkie talkie and radioed for another officer to come and take down their information.  
A few seconds later, the three saw Joe come rushing back up into the garage. The blonde Hardy was out of breath and sweating, despite the cold temperatures.  
"Did you get him?" Frank asked his younger brother.  
Joe shook his head in a negative response. "No," he rasped. "He's gone."  
"Gone?" the three chorused in unison.  
"What do you mean, gone?" Sarah asked the young man in front of her.  
"Just what I said," Joe panted. "He's gone." He wiped the sweat off of his brow before continuing. "When I got out to the car, the passenger side door was open and there was no one inside. I thought I saw him running down the street, so I took off after him. When I caught up with the person I was following, it wasn't him."  
Nancy and Frank shook their heads in disbelief. "He can't be far," Nancy protested. "He's got a bullet hole in his shoulder and he's on foot, for crying out loud."  
The brunette picked up her radio once more and alerted all officers in the building of their missing suspect. That task completed, she replaced her radio back on it's clip and returned her attention to the three in front of her. Detective Kinnan rubbed a hand over her tired face. "Okay boys and girls, I'm placing the three of you under 24 hour police protection until we catch this guy."  
"Not necessary," Frank interrupted. "We're staying at the Hyatt over on Wacker Street, not at her apartment. He has no idea we're there."  
"Frank's right," Nancy continued. "So far, he's only been to my apartment and here. He has no way to trace us to the hotel."  
"Fine, have it your way," Sarah relented. "Just let us handle this, and I promise that we'll get him." Frank, Nancy, and Joe all glanced at each other but didn't say anything.  
Moments later, another officer walked up to the four. "This is Officer William Culbertson. He'll be taking your statements. I'm going to go get an update from some of the other officers out front and then start on the ungodly amount of paperwork that you three have caused to me to have to fill out tonight."  
The trio of friends chuckled slightly and said goodnight to the Detective. "Call me if you need anything," she offered before walking away.  
Joe reached into his pocket and grabbed the card she had given him earlier. He flashed a smile at her and "Got it covered."  
Nancy and Frank stared at Joe who was obviously flirting with the officer. But before they could question his actions, Officer Culbertson pulled out his notepad and began asking questions of his own.  
  
A few hours later, after stopping at a late night diner, the trio found themselves back at the hotel. Once they had gotten Joe checked in, they headed up to Frank and Nancy's room to finalize their action plan for the following day.  
Nancy reclined on the bed leaning against Frank while he gently massaged her sore muscles, and Joe relaxed on the loveseat as they discussed their plan.  
"So, tomorrow," Nancy sighed tiredly, "We'll check on Amy and see if she can give us any leads of where Paul might be hiding out."  
"Ned might be able to offer some ideas too," Frank pointed out.  
"You're right," Nancy replied, as she relaxed into Frank's soothing touch.  
"Actually," Joe stated, "If I can use your computer in the morning, bro, I can access the agency's files and compile a list of properties that Paul and his brother own. That will at least give us a jumping off point."  
"Sounds like a plan," Frank answered.  
Joe yawned and stretched as he stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna go all Van so I can listen to her yell at me for not calling earlier. Then I'm going to bed."  
Nancy laughed at Joe's predicament. "So you've gotten yelled at by two women tonight, huh, Joe?"  
Joe shot a pointed look at his brother. "I told you she'd yell at me."  
"You're still alive, aren't you?" Frank laughed. He knew his brother had been right, when he said that Nancy would be worried and would take it out on Joe.  
Joe smiled slyly at Nancy as he walked towards the door. "I'd watch out if I were you, Frank. That one's got a temper. Stay as far away from her bad side as you possibly can." He quickly ducked out the door as he saw Nancy pick up a pillow and aim for his head.  
Frank chuckled as the pillow flew across the room and landed where Joe had been standing. "Night!" they heard Joe call from the hallway.  
"Even though he is a pain in the neck, I'm glad he's here," Nancy commented.  
"He did save you tonight," Frank commented, still massaging Nancy's shoulders. "Even though I almost got you killed," he added softly.  
"We both pulled some foolish stunts, tonight," Nancy admitted. "But we're still here."  
Frank placed a soft kiss on Nancy's neck as he continued his ministrations. "It was too close for comfort tonight, though."  
"I know," Nancy sighed, as she thought about the night's events. She had been scared to death when she saw Paul and Frank grappling for the gun. She could only imagine how he felt watching her being taken hostage while having a gun pointed at her head.  
Nancy groaned as Frank's hands hit a particularly sore spot on her back. "As good as this feels, I think I'm going to go soak in the tub for while."  
Frank released his hold on her and Nancy stood up from the bed. "While you're in the bath, I'm going to go hunt down the conference administrator and let him know why I won't be attending tomorrow."  
Nancy turned around as she heard Frank's words. "I forgot all about your conference," she said. "Frank, I don't want you to get in trouble with the department. Go to your workshops. Joe and I can do some leg work tomorrow while you're in your classes."  
"No way," Frank protested, standing up and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Not after what we went through today. I plan on calling my Captain first thing in the morning and explaining the situation to him. He's a pretty understanding guy. Plus, there's another guy here from my department as well. He can fill me in on what I miss."  
Nancy's blue eyes looked up at Frank's deep brown ones. She saw the insistence in his expression and knew that he wouldn't change his mind. "Fine." Nancy stretched up and gave Frank a light kiss on the lips. "See you in a few."  
Thirty minutes later Frank returned to the hotel room and noted that the bathroom door was still shut. He knocked lightly on the door and called her name. "Nancy?"  
Getting no answer, Frank knocked again, this time louder. "Nan, you okay?" he called out. Again, Nancy didn't answer him. Frank was getting concerned, so he opened up the bathroom door and peeked his head inside. He saw her fast asleep, reclining in the bathtub. Her reddish blonde hair piled on top of her head which was resting against the cool tile.  
Frank chuckled softly to himself for being so paranoid and quietly walked over to the bathtub. 'The events of the past day must have been harder on her than she let on,' he thought to himself as he made his way to her side. He briefly let his eyes wander over her sleeping form that was hiding beneath the rapidly disappearing bubbles, before placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Nan, wake up," he called softly.  
Nancy's eyelids fluttered open at the touch, "What?" she asked still unaware of her surroundings.  
"You fell asleep," Frank laughed.  
"Great," Nancy groused sleepily. "I'm going to be one big prune when I get out."  
Frank grinned at her as he held up the towel for her to step into. "Here you go, Sleeping Beauty."  
Nancy lifted herself out of the tub and Frank wrapped the towel around her wet body, pulling her close to him.  
"I'm getting you all wet," Nancy protested, returning the embrace.  
"I don't care," Frank whispered huskily, as his mouth descended on hers. He reluctantly pulled away a few moments later. "You need your sleep," he reminded her.  
Nancy nodded as she reached behind her and grabbed the towel with one hand. "We both need to get some rest," she replied.  
Frank stepped back and motioned her out of the bathroom. "I'm going to jump in the shower, I'll be out in a minute."  
Collecting her belongings Nancy made her way to the door. "Make it a cold one, or we really won't get any sleep tonight," she laughed.  
"Cute, Nan. Real cute," Frank grinned back at her as she slipped out into the bedroom. He pulled the drain on the tub, and as the water flowed away he let his thoughts drift to what was happening between him and Nancy. He had been so terrified when Paul grabbed her. "It was all your fault, Hardy," he berated himself. If he hadn't gone off half-cocked chasing after Paul, that never would've happened. He would've never forgiven himself if something had happened to her because of the dumb move he made by taking after Paul on his own.  
He shook of the morbid thoughts as the gurgling of the remaining water going down the drain caught his attention. Frank quickly disrobed and turned on the streaming shower. Underneath the tepid temperature of the water, he promised himself that as soon as the case was wrapped up, he was going to sit Nancy down and have a long talk about their newfound relationship.  
A few minutes later, Frank had finished his shower and had changed into a fresh pair of boxers. As he made his way into the darkened bedroom, he could hear Nancy's soft breathing indicating that she was already fast asleep. He pulled the covers on his side of the bed back, and crawled inside. Laying on his side, he threw an arm around her waist and held her tight. Before drifting off to sleep, Frank said a thankful prayer that they had both escaped the evenings events unharmed. 


	26. Chapter 26

The next morning, the alarm awoke Frank with a start. He reached over and turned off the offending shrill sound. He snuggled closer to Nancy who had momentarily stirred at the sound of the alarm. 'Just five more minutes,' he thought to himself, before drifting back off to sleep.  
An hour later, Frank was rudely awakened once more. This time he realized that it wasn't the alarm clock, but someone beating persistently on the door. He glanced over at the clock, which informed him that he had fallen back asleep not for five more minutes, but for sixty. Groaning, he untangled himself from Nancy's arms and sleepily padded towards the door. He peered out the peephole and saw his brother impatiently waiting to be let in.  
Frank unchained and unlocked the door and greeted his brother with a grunt.  
"Good morning to you too, sunshine," Joe teased as he stepped inside the still dark room.  
"Too early, Joe," Frank retorted. He glanced over at Nancy who was curled up underneath the covers, oblivious to her surroundings. Looking back at his brother he motioned Joe back out into the hallway. "Go find us some coffee. We'll be ready to go by the time you get back."  
Joe laughed at his brother who's hair was sticking up wildly. "Fine - just don't go back to sleep."  
"I won't," Frank promised. "Coffee. Now," he demanded, pushing Joe back into the hallway.  
"And you say I'm not the morning person," Joe snickered, as he walked away.  
Shutting the door, Frank turned back towards the bed. 'What I wouldn't give to spend the day resting,' he thought. Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, he quietly padded back across the room and sat gingerly down on the bed next to Nancy. For a moment, he studied her relaxed form. He shook his head in disgust, when he noticed the awful purple bruise, marring her otherwise beautiful face.  
Frank gently shook her shoulder to rouse her from sleep. "Nan, honey. Wake up."  
Nancy's eyes flickered open and she glanced up at Frank. "What time is it?" she asked with a yawn.  
"Eight o'clock," Frank replied.  
Recognition dawned on Nancy's face. "We're supposed to be meeting Joe right now," she said sitting up.  
"He's already been here," Frank answered her. "I sent him back downstairs for coffee."  
Nancy swung her feet off the bed, and walked over to retrieve some clothes from her suitcase. "Coffee sounds really good, right about now," she said, retreating into the bathroom to change and freshen up.  
Frank powered on his laptop and then quickly donned a pair of jeans and a charcoal gray sweater. He was putting on his shoes when Nancy emerged from the bathroom, in a pair of jeans and a soft white turtleneck. She walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open. The early morning light filtered in through the room, instantly making her more awake. As she stared out across the city, she felt Frank's arms wrap around her waist.  
"Good morning," he said casually.  
"Morning," she replied, turning her face towards his for a quick kiss.  
Frank cupped her face in his hands and studied it carefully. She had artfully applied her makeup so that no trace of the offending bruise was found. "You hid the bruise well," he commented.  
Nancy smiled slightly and retorted, "Well, I couldn't go out in public and have everyone think you were my abusive boyfriend, now could I?" Turning back to look out the window, Nancy's mood turned somber once again. "He's out there somewhere, Frank."  
"And we're going to find him," Frank promised her. "As soon as Joe gets back, we'll start compiling a list of possible places that he might be hiding out."  
As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door. "Everyone decent in there?" Joe called out.  
Frank and Nancy laughed lightly, and Frank made his way to the door to let his younger brother in. "Always the comedian," Frank commented dryly, opening the door.  
"Don't make fun of me," Joe protested, as he handed Frank and Nancy their steaming cups of coffee. "I come bearing coffee and donuts," he said, holding up the brown bag for emphasis.  
Frank grabbed the bag out of his younger brother's hands and pointed at the computer. "Ready to get to work?"  
Joe cracked his knuckles dramatically as he sat down in front of the laptop. Waiting for the pc to connect to the internet, he turned to the other two and asked, "So, I'm looking up any property information I can find on Paul Wheeler and his brother - what was his name again?"  
"Gerry," Nancy informed him. Turning to Frank, she said, "While you guys get started, I'm going to step out in the hall and call my boss and let him know what's going on."  
Frank nodded and replied, "Why don't you try giving Ned and Amy a call, too? Maybe they know something that the database won't be able to tell us."  
"Sure thing," Nancy answered, and then stepped out into the hallway.  
"Anything yet?" Frank asked, looking over his brother's shoulder at the computer screen.  
"Just got connected to the system," Joe answered. A few keystrokes later, and the screen began to flash 'Searching Database'. Within moments, the computer had compiled a list of over 500 properties belonging to one Paul Wheeler.  
Frank groaned at the search results. "Can you narrow the search down to Illinois?"  
Joe turned in his chair and grinned at his brother. "Sorry." Joe repeated the search once more, this time using more narrow parameters. Twelve results appeared on the screen this time.  
"Can you plot them on a map of the state so we can narrow them down even more?" Frank inquired.  
"Sure thing," Joe countered. A few seconds later the screen displayed a map of the state of Illinois with red push pins indicating the towns where the properties were located.  
Frank stared at the map displayed on the screen intently. "Looks like there are only three properties in about a fifty mile radius of Chicago. I'm guessing those are the ones that we need to concentrate on."  
"I think you're right," Joe countered. "The other nine are too far away. Write down these addresses, and then I'll run a search on his brother."  
Frank grabbed a sheet a paper and began writing down all the information that the system had displayed. Once he was done, Joe typed in Gerry Wheeler in Illinois and came up with only two properties. Both were located in Chicago.  
"Bingo," Joe grinned when the information appeared. He turned to his brother and said, "Ten bucks says he's hiding out at his brother's place."  
"If his brother's smart, he won't let him. Embezzlement is one thing, still illegal of course, but attempted murder and attempted kidnapping is a whole different ball game," Frank returned.  
"You wouldn't hide me out if I needed it?" Joe asked, feigning dismay.  
Before Frank could respond to Joe's hypothetical and idiotic question, Nancy returned to the room. "How much time off did you get?" he asked.  
"As long as I need," Nancy responded, sitting on the edge of the bed. "But technically, since I had to promise a lengthy piece on fraudulent insurance practices at Alliance when this is wrapped up, I'm still working."  
"Glad we could help further your career," Joe laughed.  
"The Tribune's profit, is more like it," Nancy grinned back. Turning serious she asked, "So, what did you guys find?"  
"We've got addresses of three properties in and around Chicago for Paul, and two for Gerry," Frank informed her. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, and showed her the list of addresses. "Were Amy and Ned any help?"  
"Ned told me about Paul's new condo on Lake Michigan, but that's all he knew about. I never got a hold of Amy. Apparently, Ned hasn't seen her since yesterday morning. He didn't even know that she had been hurt," Nancy answered.  
"Do what?" Frank queried. "She was transported to St. Joe's, right?"  
Nancy nodded affirmatively. "I know, it sounds pretty weird to me, too. So, I called the hospital and they said she was released late last night."  
Joe piped in, "Nancy, are you sure about this girl?"  
Nancy sighed. "I thought I was, but I don't like the feeling I'm getting on this one, guys. I mean, it is possible that she was just tired and wanted to do nothing but go home last night, but still - you think she would've at least popped in and said hey to him before she left."  
"You would think," Frank agreed. He paused and let the information sink in. "Nan," he began slowly. "Did you ask her to go last night, or did she offer to let you in the office?"  
Nancy looked at Frank curiously. "I wanted to go this morning, but she said she could get me in last night. That way we wouldn't have to take the chance of getting in and out before Paul got to work this morning."  
Joe shared a pointed look with his brother, and then glanced at Nancy. "Do you think it's possible that she tipped Paul off?" he offered.  
"I've thought about that," Nancy admitted, as she stood up and began pacing across the room. "But, he attacked her, too," she pointed out.  
"True," agreed Frank. "However, her injuries weren't serious if she wasn't even kept overnight. I mean, think about it Nancy. How else would Paul have known exactly what time to show up at his office to catch you guys? On a Sunday evening, nonetheless?"  
Nancy paused mid-stride and looked at him. "You're right. I didn't even think of that."  
Joe stood up and glanced at both his brother and Nancy and then announced. "I think we have our accomplice." 


	27. Chapter 27

Nancy sighed as she ran her fingers through her shoulder length hair. "This isn't good," she groaned in frustration. "And I trusted her." Nancy mentally kicked herself for letting Amy dupe her.  
"We both did," Frank reminded her. "But she doesn't know that we're onto her now, so we can use that to our advantage," he pointed out rationally.  
"Right once again," Nancy replied.  
  
"Watch it, Nan," Joe laughed. "You'll give him a big head if you keep telling him how right he is all the time."  
Frank shot a dirty look at his brother. "Like anyone's ego could ever compete with yours," he snorted.  
Nancy grinned at the two brothers. "Now, now, boys. Don't make me separate the two of you," she joked.  
"He started it," Joe pouted, continuing on with the joking. Things had been tense since the moment he stepped off the plane and it was nice to have some comic relief.  
Nancy shook her head at Joe's antics and sat back down on the bed. "So, where do we want to go from here?" she asked the other two.  
"Well, we've theoretically have three people to keep an eye on," Frank began. "Paul, Gerry, and Amy."  
"My money is on Gerry and Amy," Joe offered. "I don't think this guy would be stupid enough to go back to his own house."  
"That still leaves three places," Nancy reminded him. "Two listed under Gerry's name and wherever Amy lives."  
"Well," Joe replied. "There are three of us. We could each take one and do some surveillance."  
"No," Frank responded, shaking his head vehemently. "Not going to happen."  
Nancy placed a calming hand on Frank's arm. "I could always call Bess and George and see if they would help us," she said.  
"It still means that one of us will be alone," Frank countered. "Nancy, I just don't want to chance it after last night. There's no telling what this psycho might pull."  
"I'll take the single surveillance," Joe piped up, ignoring the steely glance from his brother. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself," he insisted.  
"As much as you like to consider yourself Superman, you're not," Frank scolded him.  
"Power down, big brother," Joe said holding up his hand. "Unless you have any other suggestions, one of us will have to go by ourselves. And I'm volunteering."  
"There isn't anyone else to ask, Frank," Nancy reminded him.  
Frank sighed. Apparently he wasn't going to win this battle. "Fine," he relented. "Go call Bess and George and see if they will help us out."  
Nancy jumped up to use the phone and Joe pulled his brother off to the corner of the room. "It will be fine," he insisted. Joe saw the look of worry etched in his brothers face and tried his best to reassure him.  
"I know that," Frank responded. "I just keep seeing that asshole with his gun pointed at Nancy's head. I don't want to loose her." he said softly.  
"And you're not going to," Joe informed him. "We're going to take this slime ball down. I just hope that I find him before you do. I don't want you to do anything stupid, like kill him."  
"I wouldn't do that. He's not worth it." Frank replied. "Besides, if I wanted him dead, he would be. I had the perfect opportunity to do that last night, but instead of putting a bullet through his chest, I put one through his shoulder. I thought it would subdue him, but I was wrong," he laughed bitterly.  
"Next time aim for his kneecap," Joe lightly advised his brother. "That way he can't get up and come after you again."  
"Good point. So you did learn something useful in Quantico, huh?" Frank laughed, referring to Joe's training at the FBI Academy.  
"I also learned ten ways to kill a man with my bare hands," Joe teasingly warned. "Don't push me."  
Frank smiled back at his brother. "I'm glad you're here," he said sincerely.  
"Someone's got to keep you in line," Joe returned. He gestured to Nancy who was still on the phone. "Nancy's been out of practice for a while, so I had to offer my services."  
"That makes two of us. She's a handful, herself," Frank commented, glancing over at her.  
"Speaking of which," Joe interrupted. "You guys have got to learn to communicate. She takes off, and I get stuck listening to you whine. And not even an hour later you do the same thing, and I'm left to deal with an angry redhead."  
"I didn't want her to worry," Frank protested.  
Joe looked at his brother and shook his head at Frank's logic. "Well, she was anyway. Just like you were worried when she took off and you couldn't get a hold of her."  
"Point taken," Frank conceded. "Was she really that worried?" he asked curiously.  
"You have no idea," Joe replied. "When I wouldn't tell where you went, she literally grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and demanded that I tell her."  
Frank eye's went wide as the image of that scenario played in his mind. "She didn't," he laughed.  
Joe nodded his head yes. "Oh yes, she did. I thought she was going to strangle me."  
Before Frank could make a sarcastic comment about Joe needing to be strangled, Nancy walked up to the two.  
"Good news," she informed them. "Bess and George both agreed. The bad news is, that George is in class until three this afternoon, so we have to wait until this afternoon to do anything."  
"Not necessarily," Frank replied. "We can try one place now, and if we come up empty handed, we can pay a visit to the other two tonight. And that way," he grinned triumphantly, "no one goes without backup."  
"Let's try Amy's first," Nancy suggested. "We'll go under the guise that we just wanted to check in and see how she is."  
"Good idea," Joe said. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and looked expectantly at the other two. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's roll."  
  
An hour later, the trio were sitting in Nancy's car which was parked in front of Amy's apartment building. After instructing Joe that they would call at the first signs of danger Nancy and Frank climbed out of the car. The blonde haired Hardy had also had been instructed to come upstairs if they weren't back to the car in fifteen minutes.  
"Be careful, you two" Joe said, wishing them luck.  
"We will," Frank promised. "Just keep your eyes open. If he's not here now, doesn't mean he's not on his way."  
"Frank, I know the meaning of the word surveillance," Joe replied.  
Shooting a glare at Joe, Frank said, "We'll be back in fifteen minutes." With that he slammed the car door and met Nancy at the front of the car.  
"You ready?" he asked, throwing his arm around her waist. The two had agreed that acting as nonchalantly as possible, would be the way to go.  
"Let's do it," Nancy said. The couple headed up the stairs to the address that Ned had given them. Nancy hated keeping it from Ned that Amy might be involved, but she didn't want to stress him out anymore than the shooting and Amy's injuries already had. Instead, Nancy had told him that she and Frank were just going to check on her and make sure that she was okay after last night. That was the same story that they planned to tell Amy as well. Ned had believed her, and she hoped that Amy would too.  
Reaching apartment 302, Frank raised his hand and rapped loudly on the door. He laced his fingers with Nancy's as they waited for an answer.  
"Who is it?" came Amy's voice from the other side of the door.  
"It's Nancy and Frank," Nancy answered cheerily. "Can we come in?"  
Amy opened the door just enough to peek her head out. "Give me just a minute to get dressed," she said. "I just woke up a few minutes ago."  
"Sure," Nancy replied as Amy shut the door.  
Frank looked at Nancy and could tell she was thinking the same thing. Not wanting to risk being heard even using the slightest of whispers, Frank mouthed to Nancy. "You think he's in there?"  
Nancy's gut feeling told her that Paul was indeed hiding out at Amy's apartment. However, her intuition had already failed her once on this case. "I think so," she replied back silently. "But I'm not sure."  
Frank nodded in agreement. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to his brother's phone. "Paul possibly inside. Watch all exits" he typed into his phone. He hit the send button, just as Amy reopened the door.  
Dressed in jeans and a faded university sweatshirt, Amy stepped aside and allowed the two entry into her home. "Sorry the place is a mess," she apologized nervously, picking up the remains of yesterday's paper from the couch. She motioned for them to sit as she flitted about the living and dining room area of the apartment tidying up.  
"Don't worry about it," Nancy insisted, as she carefully watched Amy's movements. "So, how are you doing? We were held up with the police until after visiting hours were over with and just wanted to check on you."  
Amy's back was turned to them as she replied, so they couldn't gage her true response. "I feel like crap, but I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days."  
"Amy, what exactly happened last night?" Frank asked as innocently as he could. "Nancy said that Paul knocked you out before attacking her. How did he sneak up on you?"  
Before Amy could reply, a sharp yapping sound came from the other end of the apartment. "Excuse me," she said hastily retreating from the room, "Let me find out what my dog's barking about."  
On the couch, Frank and Nancy shared a questioning look. When they had entered the apartment, they had both gotten a good view of the layout. Aside from the living/dining area they were in, the only other rooms appeared to be the kitchen that was off to the left of the living quarters, and a hallway that led to two doors situated at the far end. The only place for Paul to be hiding would be either the bedroom or the bathroom. The sound of a small dog barking had come from one of those two rooms.  
Hearing the door slam shut at the end of the hallway, Nancy and Frank cleared their countenances of any suspicious looks. Amy emerged carrying a small black and tan dog, that appeared to be a Yorkshire Terrier. Clutching the dog desperately against her chest, Amy had tears rolling down her face when she stood in front of them.  
"You've got to help me," she pleaded. 


	28. Chapter 28

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked, jumping up from her seat on the couch. Almost instantly, Amy appeared to be an innocent victim once more, instead of an accomplice to criminal activity.  
"He said he was going to kill me," Amy whispered, nervously stroking the animal's luxurious coat as she cried.  
"Who?" Frank demanded, also standing to face the obviously frightened young woman.  
"Paul," she choked out between sobs.  
"Where is he, Amy?" Nancy questioned the young brunette in front of her.  
"He said he'd kill me and Ned if I told anyone what was going on," she sobbed hysterically.  
Nancy shot a quick glance at Frank before placing her hands on Amy's shoulders. "Amy, you've got to calm down and tell us what's going on. We can't help you if we don't the situation."  
Amy's brown eyes looked up at Nancy's concerned face. Her sobs began to quiet down and she bit her lip nervously. She looked back and forth between Nancy and Frank and whispered, "I don't know if I should say anything."  
Frank took a step closer and stood next to Nancy. "Amy, anything you can tell us will get us that much closer to finding Paul and putting him behind bars. Do you know where he is?"  
Nodding silently Amy indicated that she did. Pointing down the hallway she answered, "When he heard you guys come in, he apparently went down the fire escape outside my bedroom."  
Frank shot Nancy and alarmed look and immediately grabbed his cell phone to warn his brother. "Go!" Nancy shooed him. "I've got this covered."  
When Frank shot out the front door of the apartment, Nancy pulled out her cell phone and placed a 9-1-1 call. She gave the dispatcher all of the necessary information and was promised that a unit would be arriving as soon as possible. That task completed, she turned once again to the scared young woman in front of her. "Sit down and tell me what happened. Start at the beginning and tell me how Paul knew we went to the office last night." Nancy instructed.  
Amy sat down on the couch next to Nancy and continued to pet her dog for comfort. "When I got home from visiting Ned yesterday afternoon, Paul was waiting in front of my door. I told him to get lost. He refused and warned me to stay away from Ned and you two. He said that you guys were only causing trouble and that if you kept putting your nose where it didn't belong, you all wouldn't be alive for much longer. He kept telling me, I like you Amy - I don't want to have to hurt you, too." Amy glanced up at Nancy and her eyes went wide, "Oh my god. You thought that I told Paul what we were doing, didn't you?"  
"The thought did cross my mind this morning," Nancy said evasively. It was now apparent that the brunette had nothing to do with the unfortunate events of the night before.  
"Nancy, I swear that I didn't tell him anything,"she promised. "After Paul left, I came inside and then called you. I guess he was watching me and followed me to the office when I went to meet you."  
Nancy let the pieces fall into place. Amy's story seemed plausible enough, but it still didn't explain how Paul ended up escaping via the fire escape a few minutes earlier. "So how did he end up here?" she questioned.  
"When I was getting released from the hospital last night, Gerry, Paul's brother, came by. He told me that Paul was hurt but had escaped the police. He told me that I had to keep Paul at my house, because he knew they would check his place after they checked Paul's condo. I told him no way in hell." She took a deep breath and then continued. "He opened his jacket and showed me his gun. Gerry said I didn't have much of a choice, unless I preferred death," Amy finished, shuddering at the memory.  
Nancy ran her hands through her shoulder length hair as she listened to Amy's explanation. "Why didn't you call the cops or us?" she asked in frustration.  
"Because the doctors had already discharged me and no one was around!" she cried out in frustration. "He took me to the car where Paul was waiting and drove me us back here. Gerry took all of the phones and my car keys. I tried to sneak out in the middle of the night, but my dog heard me and started barking. Paul woke up and caught me before I could get out." She lifted up her sweatshirt and showed Nancy the telltale signs of several bruises forming around her rib cage. "When you guys knocked on the door, he let me answer it, but not before grabbed me by the throat and threatened to kill me again. I guess he went out through the window, when I let you guys inside."  
"It's going to be okay," Nancy promised, placing a comforting hand on Amy's shoulder. "Frank and Joe are downstairs right now, prepared to take him down."  
  
As Frank dashed down the stairs, he inwardly thanked his brother for suggesting that they purchase the cell phones that doubled as walkie talkies. "He's coming down the fire escape, Joe!" Frank shouted into the phone.  
Joe buzzed back, "I see him." He quickly got out of the parked car and ran across the parking lot to the side of the building. Paul had just landed on the hard ground and was running towards the back of the building. "He's going around back," Joe warned his brother, as he took off chasing the wanted man.  
Frank made a sharp turn at the end of the stairwell and ran through the breeze way of the building. At the end of the corridor, he glanced to the right and saw Paul streaking across the grass towards the common areas that housed the tennis courts and the pool. Joe was gaining on him and Frank ran to intercept.  
When Paul was no more than a few steps away, Frank used the adrenaline coursing through his veins to launch himself at the crazed man and tackle him to the ground. "You're done, Wheeler," Frank said forcefully. Paul struggled to flip Frank off of him, but Frank managed to get a hold of Paul's injured shoulder and twisted it behind him. Crying out in pain, Paul finally relented.  
Joe stopped at the two men in front of him on the ground. Frank had Paul securely detained and was panting from the energy that he had just expended. Joe pulled out his handcuffs from the back of his jeans and tossed them to his brother. Frank made quick work of putting the cuffs on and made sure to tighten them enough so that Paul's injured arm was causing him pain.  
Frank climbed to his feet and pulled Paul roughly up with him. He pushed the man in Joe's direction and said, "He's all yours." Frank knew that if he kept charge of the man until the police arrived, Paul would be leaving with more than just an injured shoulder. Joe nodded and allowed his brother to calmly walk away from the scene. Police sirens were now being heard, drawing closer and closer to the apartment complex.  
Joe grabbed Paul's arm and walked him out into the parking lot of the complex, to wait for the police, while Frank went upstairs to check on Nancy and Amy.  
Nancy flung open the door as she heard him approach. She took sight of disheveled appearance and asked worriedly, "Did you get him?"  
Frank nodded yes and gathered Nancy in his arms in a tight embrace. "It's all over," he whispered.  
Nancy pulled back from Frank and turned to Amy. "They got him, Amy. He can't threaten you anymore."  
Visibly relieved, Amy sat her dog on the ground and jumped up from the couch. She impulsively grabbed Nancy and hugged her. Then walking over to Frank she reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, guys," she said to the both of them. "I don't know how Ned and I will ever be able to repay you."  
Nancy waved her off with her hand, "Don't worry about that." She grinned at Frank and said, "This is what we do. We can't help ourselves."  
The two laughed heartily, finally able to release the built up tension of the last few days, as Amy looked confusedly at the pair. "Huh?" she asked.  
"Just ask Ned," Nancy managed to say through her laughter. "He'll fill you in."  
Her laughter dying, Frank looked at Nancy and said, "So what you say we go downstairs and make sure the police have all the information they need?"  
"Let's go," Nancy replied. She glanced over at Amy and said, "The police are going to want a statement from you. You'll have to tell them what happened last night."  
"They're not going to charge me with anything, are they?" Amy asked with worry. "I didn't have any other choice."  
"We'll make sure they know that you were fully cooperative with us," Frank promised.  
"Besides," Nancy chimed in, "It's not technically aiding and abetting. What Paul did was more along the lines of keeping you a hostage in your own home."  
Shutting the front door behind them as they walked outside, Amy sighed, "I'm just glad this whole nightmare is over." 


	29. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Author's Note:  
Gee, you guys are pretty impatient! :) I put up the NEXT TO THE LAST CHAPTER, and everyone starts pleading that it can't end that way. Do you really think I would do that to everyone out there who has faithfully read and reviewed my story? I had asked a few chapters back, how much longer you thought my story should be. Someone pointed out that they wouldn't want it wrapped up in the next chapter or two, but that they didn't want it to be one of those stories that just dragged on and on. I feel the same way. So, roughly 8 chapters after the question was posed to the group, there is now only one more chapter left. I felt that I had said what had needed to be said, and to have anymore twists or turns would've been in effect, dragging the story on and on. Practically 70 pages later, I've finally wrapped up the tale. However don't fear - I have a sequel in my head, kind of.  
I'm thinking about doing a sort of continuation of this story. The changes that take place in Frank/Nancy's relationship, Joe and Bess's separate weddings, things like that. I write fluff and romance really well (I think so, anyway), and adding the mystery element was a challenge to me. So, here's crossing my fingers that I can come up with a decent mystery for my next installment. Or, if you guys prefer, I can write some fluff/romance. Let me know what you think!  
Again, thanks so much for all of the incredible reviews! I really do appreciate the kind words, especially with this being my first ND/HB attempt that's seen the light of day.  
Enough rambling... enjoy the last chapter. ----Kim 


	30. Chapter 29

After the police had arrived at Amy's complex, the four of them were asked to go to the station to give their statements. It had taken longer than any of them had realized it would to relate all of their story as well as give the police all of the information they had on uncovering the embezzlement. Soon the late morning had turned into late afternoon and they decided to pay Ned a visit in the hospital to give him the unedited version of the events of the last few days.  
"So, Paul shot me, knocked out Frank and Amy on two separate occasions. Tried to kidnap Nan, and got shot himself in the process. Then he had his brother force Amy to let him stay at her place to escape the police and then kept her a prisoner in her own apartment?" Ned said incredulously. He reclined in his hospital bed and glanced between the faces of Amy, Nancy, Frank, and Joe gathered around him.  
"I think that covered it," Nancy answered, nodding her head in agreement.  
"Wow," Ned muttered. "And all because I caught him embezzling from the company. Incredible."  
Joe shook his head and laughed, "A whole lot of good all that money is going to do him no good behind bars."  
"I still can't believe he did all of this because of the money," Amy sighed. She sat on the bed next to Ned, holding his hand in hers.  
"Greed will do that to people," Frank spoke up. "The important thing is that we're all okay." He put his arm around Nancy's waist and pulled her towards him slightly. He glanced down at her and was rewarded with a soft smile.  
Ned cleared his throat to get their attention. "I just want to apologize for being such an ass. I truly am sorry. If it weren't for you two," he said indicating towards Frank and Joe, "there's no telling what could've happened."  
"Before this becomes any more of a Hallmark moment," Joe interrupted with a grin, his blue eyes shining, "we promised to meet Bess and George for dinner."  
Nancy had called the cousins upon leaving Amy's house, to let them know that they weren't going to be needing their help, since Paul was in custody. The girls invited them to dinner instead, which the three had readily agreed to.  
Frank glanced at his younger brother and shook his head. "Always thinking with your stomach, Joe. But we do have to meet them, so let's go before you faint from hunger," he teased. He released his hold on Nancy and walked over to the bed. Offering his hand to Ned, he said, "I'm sorry for everything, too. But, I hope things work out for you. No hard feelings?"  
Ned clasped Frank's hand with a hearty shake. "None. Take care of her, Frank," he said referring to Nancy.  
"I will," Frank promised.  
"Um, guys. I'm still in the room," Nancy laughed. She had been worried that things would be tense when they decided to pay Ned a visit and she was extremely glad that Frank and Ned were regarding each other with civility, not hostility.  
"Sorry," the two men chorused in unison. They laughed lightly as Frank returned to Nancy's side. "Ready?" he asked her and his brother.  
"Ready," Joe agreed, answering for himself and Nancy. If on cue, his stomach grumbled loudly.  
"Get out of here," Frank grinned, pushing his brother out into the hallway. He paused in the doorway, waiting for Nancy to join them.  
Nancy walked over to Ned's side and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Take care," she told him softly.  
Ned pulled her down for a hug. "Thank you, Nan," he whispered in her ear. "If you ever need anything..." Ned let his voice trail off.  
"I know where to find you," Nancy said, standing up. She joined Frank in the doorway and turned to face the couple still inside the room. "Be happy," she graciously wished them.  
Amy and Ned smiled at each other and Ned replied for them. "You too."  
Nancy slipped her hand into Frank's and smiled as she answered. "I think we'll be fine."  
  
"You guys always find ways to get into trouble when you're together," Bess laughed in amazement as the trio finished telling their story. Bess, her fiancee' Tom, George, Frank, Joe, and Nancy were all seated around a large table at a local Italian restaurant.  
"We don't find trouble," Nancy laughed, as she took a sip of wine. "Trouble finds us."  
"Amen to that," Frank said, agreeing with his brother. "And to think, I thought that was all in the past."  
George grinned at the brothers. "Goes to show you, that some things never change. Especially when you two and Nancy are involved. You three really need to open up your own agency."  
"And deal with those two on a daily basis?" Joe teased. "No thanks!"  
Nancy swatted Joe, who was seated to her right, with her napkin. "You think it's a picnic putting up with you?" she teased back.  
"Tell me about it," Frank joked.  
The other three laughed at Joe's shocked expression. "Who me?" he protested.  
"Yes, you," Nancy and Frank said together.  
"So, are you guys up for a little dancing?" Bess suggested to the rest of the group. She glanced at her fiancee' who said, "We know this great little place a few minutes from here that has a local band that plays there nightly. They're really pretty good."  
"What do you say, Hardy?" Nancy asked Frank. "Up for a little dancing?"  
Frank threw his arm around Nancy's shoulder and grinned. "As long as you don't step on my feet, Drew."  
Shooting a mock glare at him, she turned back to Bess. "We're in."  
"What about you Joe, George?" Bess questioned, looking at the other two expectantly.  
George leaned over to Joe and in a stage whisper said, "She'll get really mad if we say no."  
Joe laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure," he replied casually.  
"Great!" Bess exclaimed and then motioned for the waiter to bring the check.  
  
The music of the band, Dial 9, greeted the group as they walked into Lillian's. It was a smoky little bar with a nice decor, an eclectic crowd, and a decent size dance floor. They pushed together two tables at the front of the dance floor and sat down to relax. After ordering their drinks, Nancy motioned Bess and George to join her in the ladies room.  
"Why do they always have to go in groups?" Joe laughed as the three women walked away.  
"Typical animal pack behavior," Tom supplied. "That and they want to talk about one or all of us, I'm sure."  
"Great," Frank grimaced. "Why do I have a feeling that I'm the topic of gossip in there?"  
Joe patted his older brother on the back and laughed. "Because you probably are, big brother."  
Inside the small restroom, Bess and George gathered around Nancy to hear the details. Bess had done her duty and filled George in on what Nancy had told her a few days ago. "So," Bess grinned. "What's going on with you two?"  
"Nothing you don't already know," Nancy replied. "I'm sure she's already filled you in," she asked George.  
"Of course," George replied. "So, how did Ned take the news?"  
"Pretty well, all things considered," Nancy admitted. "He even apologized to Frank this afternoon for being such an ass, and told us to be happy. I think he's fallen for Amy, so it wasn't as crushing as a blow as it could've been."  
"That's good," Bess replied. "I mean, it's not good that he fell for Amy, but...oh you know what I mean."  
Nancy laughed at her friend, as she pulled her lipstick out of her purse. Leaning in the mirror to reapply it, she heard George ask, "So, where does this leave you and Frank? Are you going to try the long distance thing?"  
Nancy's eyes met George's in the reflection of the mirror. "We honestly haven't had the time to talk things through. But, I would like that."  
"Well, you've always wanted to work for the New York Times," Bess reminded her friend. "You could relocate to New York."  
Running a brush through her hair, Nancy told Bess, "Yes I have, and I could. But, it's still way to early to be talking about moving across the country. It hasn't even been a week, Bess."  
Bess held her hands up in the air. "Okay, okay," she laughed. "Just pointing out that you do have options."  
"Leave her alone, Bess," George chided her cousin. "I'm sure when Nancy decides what she wants to do, you and I will be the first to know after Frank."  
"Thank you, George," Nancy replied. "There are three gorgeous guys out there waiting on us, so let's get out there and have some fun."  
The three guys stood up as the girls reached the table. "Good news," Joe told them. "I got a call from Detective Kinnan while you were in the bathroom. CPD picked up Gerry about two hours ago. They're charging him with embezzlement and aiding and abetting. I'm sure they can think of some other charges to tack on, as well."  
"That's great!" Nancy exclaimed. "Now this whole fiasco is really all behind us."  
After Joe's announcement, Tom whisked his fiancee' out on the dance floor. Joe motioned to the dance floor and asked George if she wanted to join them. "Sure," she responded casually, and the two soon followed the other couple.  
Frank offered Nancy his hand and asked, "Dance?"  
"I'd love to," Nancy smiled as she took his hand. He led her out on to the floor as the band began to play a slow song. She stepped into his arms and he gracefully led them around the small space.  
Resting her head on his shoulder, Nancy let the soothing music wash over her. Frank's hands gently roamed over Nancy's back and he drew her closer to him. The two enjoyed the pure simplicity of just being in each others arms. As the song drew to a close, Frank placed a soft kiss on top of her head and bent down to whisper in her ear, "Nan, there's something I have to tell you."  
Nancy raised her head and looked at Frank quizzically. "What?"  
Frank grabbed her hand and led her off of the dance floor. He paused at the table to grab their drinks and their coats, before ushering her out of the bar. Outside, there were tables and chairs for customers to enjoy, but on the cold night, they were the only two outside.  
"What's wrong, Frank?" Nancy asked, as he pulled out a chair for her to sit in.  
"Nothing's wrong," Frank replied. He picked up a chair and moved it so he was positioned in front of Nancy. He took his hands in hers and looked her deep in the eyes. "I just promised myself that as soon as this case was wrapped up that you and I would have a long talk."  
"Okay," Nancy said slowly, wondering where he was going with his little announcement. "What do you want to talk about?"  
"Us," Frank replied nervously. He knew how strong his feelings for Nancy were, and he hoped that she felt the same way.  
Nancy began to get nervous herself. 'What if he changed his mind,' she thought worriedly. 'He looks so nervous.' "Okay," she repeated. "What about us?"  
"Nan, I... I just want you to know how much I care about you. This may seem sudden, but if you stop and think about it, it's really not. I mean, we have known each other for years, and besides being really close friends, we've always had that undercurrent running between us. And well I guess what I'm trying to say is..." Frank rambled.  
"Frank, just tell me," Nancy said softly, caressing his hands with her thumbs.  
Frank locked his brown eyes with her blue ones and melted. He saw the same love there that he felt for her. Confident in his decision to tell her, he took a deep breath and said, "What I'm trying to say is that I love you, Nan."  
Tears glistened in Nancy's eyes as she heard Frank's admission of love. She gave him a soft smile and whispered back, "I love you, too."  
Frank reached over and gathered her in his arms, and his lips met hers in a gentle kiss full of unspoken promises.  
Reluctantly pulling back, Nancy looked at Frank and asked, "So, where do we go from here?"  
Frank sighed. He hated the fact that he and Nancy lived in different states and wouldn't able to see each other as often as they would want to. "Well," he began. "I'm in town through Saturday, so we have the rest of the week to spend together."  
"And after that?" Nancy interrupted softly.  
"After that," he grinned, "I assume that we'll both have outrageous phone bills each month and be getting lots of frequent flier miles, for now at least. How does that sound to you?"  
Nancy smiled back at Frank, and slipped her arms around his neck once more. "It sounds perfect, for now."  
Frank leaned in and gave Nancy a soul shattering kiss. The two were so engrossed in each other that they didn't hear the door open and Bess step out onto the patio.  
"Oops," Bess laughed, as Frank and Nancy parted, both blushing furiously. "Sorry, guys. I guess my timing still stinks. We were just wondering where you two wandered off to. Guess I know. Come back inside and join us when you're done out here," she rambled.  
When Bess disappeared back inside the bar, Nancy pressed her forehead to Frank's and laughed slightly. "George was right when she said earlier that some things never change."  
Softly caressing her face, Frank replied, "That's only partly true. This time around, you and I finally got it right."  
"That we did," Nancy grinned, before capturing Frank's lips once more. 


End file.
